Valdosta State built a double-digit second half lead and withstood a comeback bid by Brewton-Parker in the final five minutes to defeat the Barons 90-84 in Alumni Arena on the campus of Armstrong Atlantic Friday afternoon.

Kevin Harris tallied 20 points and eight rebounds to go along with four assists to lead VSU. Josh Sparks, who connected on all five of his field goal attempts and 6-of-8 free throws, had 16 points and seven rebounds, while Will Alston finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Martrez Scott also tallied double digit points as he connected on 8-of-12 free throws to finish with 12 in the game.

The Blazers shot 49.1 percent from the floor as they connected on 28-of-57 shots. The Blazers owned a 46-36 advantage in rebounding in the game and hit 30-of-41 free throws while the Barons, who took just seven charity shots, hit six.

The two teams traded baskets during the opening minutes of the second half, with the lead changing hands four times in the first five minutes, before Brewton-Parker (1-7) used a 15-5 run to grab the largest advantage of the first half. Delano Howard fueled the Baron run as he began it with a pair of threes while also hitting back-to-back trifectas for the final six points that have BPC a 20-11 advantage with 11:18 to go in the half.

Valdosta State (9-2) fought back over ensuing four minutes as hit scored 11 of the next 13 points to even the game at 22-22. Billy McShepard started the run with a three-point play and, after Tim Jickell hit a basket for Brewton-Parker, Scott added a lay-up and Sparks a dunk to force a Baron timeout. After the break, Scott hit a jumper to pull the Blazers within two points, allowing McShepard to tie it with a basket with 7:42 to go in the half.

BPC scored the next five points, including Howard’s fifth three of the half, only to have VSU fight back to take the lead on a Tristan Steele trifecta with 4:06 remaining en route to its largest lead of the half, 39-33, with just under a minute to go. Brewton-Parker’s Gerald Kohn hit a three-pointer 20 seconds before the intermission to cut the Blazer advantage to 41-38 at the half.

Valdosta State shot 48.1 percent from the floor during the opening half, but connected on just 2-of-9 three pointers in the frame. Meanwhile, Brewton-Parker, which shot just 38.2 percent overall in the first half, connected on 9-of-15 threes in the opening frame.

After seeing the Barons close to within two points early in the second half, the Blazers responded with an 16-2 spurt to grab the lead for good. Harris, who was held to three points in the first half, sparked the run as he scored the first six points on a three-pointer and a three-point play while Sparks added the next four, including a rim-shaking dunk that forced the game to be delayed for 18 minutes. After the delay, Steele hit a pair of free throws and Harris added a layup off a steal before feeding Sparks for another dunk to give VSU a 63-47 lead with 13:11 remaining.

Valdosta State kept its double digit lead for the next eight minutes only to have Brewton-Parker put together a 12-2 spurt to close to within 77-71 with 4:43 to play. The teams traded shots the rest of the way, with VSU hitting 7-of-8 free throw attempts in the final minute to seal the victory.

Howard hit 7-of-8 threes and scored 24 points to lead Brewton-Parker, who hit 16 threes, on 29 attempts, as a team in the game. Gerald Kohn added 16 points while Lawrence McCray tallied six points and a team-high seven rebounds.

BPC hit 31-of-75 field goals to shoot 41.3 percent in the contest. The Barons forced 13 VSU turnovers in the contest, tallying seven steals in the process

Valdosta State returns to action on Dec. 18 at 3 p.m. when it plays Hiwassee in its final game before the Christmas break.