By Adam MacDonald
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA — The 2009-10 Blazer basketball team is having a season like no other in Valdosta State history. The legend continued to grow on Thursday night.
The Blazers hammered rival North Alabama 81-70 in front of a school-record 3,419 fans. The biggest crowd in VSU history witnessed the Blazers win their 12th consecutive game, the longest winning streak for the Blazers since they joined Division II in 1974.
“To be honest, I’m more impressed we had the largest crowd in school history,” Blazers coach Mike Helfer said. “That just shows that people are interested, they’re enthused, they’ve connected to our players. I’m very thankful for that.”
The fifth-ranked Blazers (20-2, 6-0 in the GSC) showed their depth, as five players scored in double figures to complete a season sweep of UNA.
Tristan Crawford scored a team-high 15 points and Tyrone Curnell, B.J. Dibble and Ryan Nelson added 13 points. Kevin Harris reached 10 points thanks to an NBA-range 3-pointer. Dibble added 13 boards to record a double double. He has 28 rebounds in his last two games.
“I think our depth is starting to wear on people,” Helfer said. “You look at our minutes and we really spread them around. Fresh legs are going to lead to some good things on the basketball court.”
UNA opened the game by hitting 7 of 11 3-pointers to take a 29-24 lead, but the Blazers never got rattled in a building they’ve only lost in twice over the course of two seasons.
The Blazers went on a 13-3 run in the final three minutes of the first half to grab a 45-37 advantage. Curnell started the run with two free throws and Dibble made a layup. Lewis scored on a fastbreak and Crawford followed with a basket and a foul and tipin.
“I thought we showed a lot of composure,” Helfer said. “They made eight threes and we led by eight at halftime.”
UNA closed to within two of VSU’s lead early in the second half, but the versatile Nelson took over for the Blazers. He drained a long 3-pointer to extend the lead to five, then later in the half he hit two more 3-pointers. Nelson added three emphatic blocks that riled up the crowd. He scored all 13 of his points in the second half.
“A guy like Ryan Nelson can make threes,” Helfer said. “He’s a great shooter. Tonight I think he showed his versatility with not only the blocks, but with many other defensive plays he made which were critical.”
Jared Strode led the Lions with 20 points. Daviel Clements scored 19 points, 16 of which came in the first half. Clements played all 40 minutes and Helfer pointed out that he never got a chance to rest, while the Blazers subbed many players with fresh legs to defend him.
The Blazers return to the P.E. Complex on Saturday when they host NAIA Lambuth at 4 p.m. The Blazers defeated Lambuth earlier this season on the road.
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