Valdosta State forward Josh Sparks goes up for a contested jump shot during the Blazers’ 81-61 victory over the Delta State Statesmen on Thursday night.

The Valdosta State men’s basketball team started its conference schedule off the right way. The Blazers earned a dominating 81-61 victory over the Delta State Statesmen Thursday night at the P.E. Complex.

“I think we are not where we need to be to be really successful in this league,” Valdosta State head coach Mike Helfer said. “But, I am happy that our kids are making progress, and I think they are learning what I expect… We are just playing really hard, and I appreciate that from our guys.”

Led by the play of Tristan Steele and Jacquan Nobles, the Blazers never trailed on the night, building a 27-point lead at one point in the second half. On the night, four Blazers scored in double figures, with Steele and Nobles each recording 19 points, while Sidney Harris recorded 11 points. Josh Sparks added 10 points in the win.

The Blazers jumped out to an 11-4 lead behind seven points from Steele, who opened the game with a 3-pointer. VSU added to its lead behind a pair of Michael Panaggio free throws, which made the score 13-4.

Delta State came charging back, cutting VSU’s lead to 22-19 with 9:58 to play in the opening half. From there, the Blazers dominated the final minutes of the half, using a 23-11 run to take a 45-30 lead at halftime.

“Delta is a good basketball team,” Helfer said. “So we knew they were going to make a run. I thought our kids handled it well.”

The Blazers shot 50 percent from the floor in the opening half, connecting on 17 of 34 field goal attempts. Delta State wasn’t too far behind, connecting on 14 of 30 field goal attempts, 10 of which came on layups or dunks.

Both teams came out ice cold in the second half. The Blazers started the half 0 for 7 shooting, while Delta State began the half 0 for 8. VSU’s scoreless drought ended with a Panaggio jumper with 16:03 remaining. Panaggio’s jumper was followed up by a Steele fast break layup and a free throw. From there, Harris got into the action, nailing a 3-pointer that put VSU out in front 54-30.

With the Blazers leading 56-35, Nobles took over. The junior scored the next 11 VSU points, drilling three straight 3-pointers in the process, each of which brought the crowd to its feet. Following Nobles’ run, Sparks got into the action with a monster dunk off of an alley-oop from Harris, which gave the Blazers a 69-42 lead.

“I just felt good,” Nobles said. “I have been struggling on the offensive end lately, so I have just been in the gym working hard.”

The Blazers continued to pile it on, using a Will Alston layup, a Panaggio jumper and another Sparks dunk to re-extend their lead to 25 points (75-50).

Following the run, the Blazers turned sloppy in the final minutes of play, and the Statesmen outscored them 8-5 over the final 2:49 of the game.

“We are not looking at the score, we are looking at the progress of our basketball team,” Helfer said. “We are trying to do things consistently well, regardless of what the score is. Just be consistent and do things the right way. We are just trying to keep that philosophy.”

The Blazers return to action Saturday night, when they welcome the Christian Brothers Buccaneers to the P.E. Complex for an 8 p.m. tipoff.