VALDOSTA —
James Anacreon scored a career-high 26 points and 14 rebounds to lead Valdosta State to a 91-73 victory over Albany State in non-conference men's basketball action at The Complex Tuesday evening.
With the win, Valdosta State improved to 4-0 on the year while Albany State fell to 0-2.
Anacreon dominated the first 20 minutes of play to direct VSU to a 46-30 halftime lead. The senior connected on 4-of-6 field goals and 7-of-8 free throws to score 15 points to go along with 12 rebounds and three blocked shots in the frame.
Valdosta State never trailed as it scored the first 10 points of the game. After a timeout, Albany State fought back with seven straight points, only to have VSU respond with the next 10 as Shaquille Harris and David Murray hit three-pointers. Josh Sparks added a tip-in and Anacreon a lay-up for a 20-7 VSU lead six and a half minutes minutes into the contest.
The Golden Rams got within seven points seven minutes later, only to have the Blazers close out the half on a 15-6 run, fueled by 11 points by Anacreon.
The Hollis, N.Y. native opened the run with a lay-up and three free throws before feeding Alan Love for a lay-up and free throw for a three-point play. Anacreon added two more free throws, and after Harris hit one-of-two charity shots, connected on an additional two before throwing down a monstrous dunk on a feed from Sparks for the final VSU points of the half.
Albany State got no closer than 15 points in the second half and trailed by more than 20 for much of the final 20 minutes of play. Valdosta State claimed its largest lead of the night when Jarroid Johnson hit a pair of free throws with 10:10 to go to give the Blazers a 72-46 advantage.
Anacreon also finished with three assists, five blocks and three steals in the game. Harris tallied 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting while Murray finished with 14. Valdosta State shot 48.3 percent from the floor in the game as it connected on 29-of-60 field goal attempts while also making 25-of-31 free throws. VSU owned a 36-31 advantage in rebounding and blocked nine shots while recording 18 steals on 26 ASU turnovers.
Andrew Colvin led the Golden Rams with 16 points while Justin Udi and Trey Gosier had 11 each. Albany State connected on 30-of-61 field goals to shoot 49.2 percent from the floor, but made just 7-of-14 free throws.
Valdosta State closes out its five-game home stand Saturday at 5:00 p.m. when it hosts Lynn at The Complex. The game was originally scheduled for 4:00 p.m., but was moved back an hour due to the Valdosta State vs. West Alabama NCAA Playoff football game, which will be played at Noon.
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Valdosta State’s Shaquille Harris scored 19 points in VSU’s 91-73 win over Albany State Tuesday night at the P.E. Complex in Valdosta. Ed Hooper | The Valdosta Daily Times
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