Valdosta State guard Sidney Harris (2) goes up for a layup during the first half of Friday night’s game against the Florida Memorial Lions at the P.E. Complex. The Blazers won the game 89-71 and improved to 5-4 on the season.

Josh Magette scored 18 points and dished out 10 assists to lead No. 14 Alabama-Huntsville to an 86-72 victory over Valdosta State at Spragins Hall Thursday evening.

With the victory, Alabama-Huntsville improved to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in Gulf South Conference men’s basketball play, while Valdosta State fell to 7-6 and 1-2 in league action.

Valdosta State jumped out to an early lead, as it scored nine of the first 13 points of the game. The Blazers kept the pressure up by connecting on 8 of its first 14 field goal attempts, including 4 of 5 three-pointers. However, the Chargers used six offensive rebounds to stay close, as VSU built a 21-18 advantage nine minutes into the contest.

The game remained close for the next five minutes until UAH used a 9-0 run to grab the lead. Conner Blasi started the run with a pair of free throws, then Zane Campbell connected on lay-ups on back-to-back trips down the floor. Jamie Smith closed out the spurt with a three-pointer with 5:06 remaining in the first half to give Alabama-Huntsville a 38-30 advantage.

VSU fought back, getting to within four points over the remainder of the half, only to have Ronnie Mack hit a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give the Chargers a 46-37 halftime lead.

The Blazers got no closer than seven points early in the second half, while Magette pushed the Alabama-Huntsville advantage into double digits with a three-pointer with 17:37 to play in the game. The two teams played even for the next two minutes before Magette struck again from downtown to push the Charger lead into double digits for good.

After falling behind by as much as 65-51 with 10:53 to go in the contest, VSU turned to Will Alston to get back to within 10 points. Alston out-scored UAH 6-4 over the ensuing five minutes and fed Tristan Steele for another bucket to pull the Blazers within 69-59.

Alabama-Huntsville scored the next six points to grab its largest lead of the game and allowed VSU to get no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

Michael Panaggio led Valdosta State with 22 points. He connected on 9 of 16 shots, including 4 of 7 three-pointers. Steele and Alston added 16 points each for the Blazers, who shot 45.9 percent from the floor in the game. Josh Sparks blocked six shots in the game to bring his career total to 118, moving him into third place in school history. The junior also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.

Jamie Smith scored 20 points to lead the Chargers, while Campbell added 14 and Blasi and Srdjan Boskovic had 10 each. UAH dished out 20 assists and committed just nine turnovers in the contest, while shooting 52.6 percent from the floor.

Valdosta State returns to action on Saturday, when it travels to Florence, Ala. for a Gulf South Conference contest against the North Alabama Lions.