Valdosta State guard Mike Holloway (right) goes up for a jumper over a West Georgia defender during the first half of Saturday night’s game at the P.E. Complex. The Blazers lost 77-76.

The Valdosta State Blazers couldn’t snap the longest losing streak under head coach Mike Helfer Saturday night.

The Blazers fell in dramatic fashion to in-state rival West Georgia, 77-76, in front of the third largest crowd in school history. The loss extends VSU’s losing streak to five games, a streak that dates back to Jan. 7.

The loss didn’t come without a valiant offer from a short-handed VSU team, which played with just eight players as forward Josh Sparks (illness) and guard Tristan Steele (shoulder) were not in uniform.

“Our guys played really hard and really smart” Valdosta State head coach Mike Helfer said. “I am very proud of that…We just tried to keep the game short. West Georgia did a great job. Take nothing away from the adjustments from them tonight. Give them a lot of credit, but our guys played really hard tonight.”

The two teams swapped the lead on five different occasions in the second half, with West Georgia claiming the lead for a final time with a Gavin Fields 3-pointer that made the score 61-60 with five minutes to play. West Georgia wasted little time extending its lead, putting together an 8-2 run to build a 69-62 lead.

Michael Panaggio put an end to the Wolves’ run by drilling a 3-pointer that made the score 69-65 with 1:18 to play. Following a West Georgia jumper, Sidney Harris drained a 3-pointer, which cut the Wolves’ lead to just three, 71-68. After a timeout taken by VSU, West Georgia used just two passes to get by the VSU defense to score an uncontested layup by Lavon Gray, making the score 73-68 with 23.7 seconds to play.

Needing a quick basket, Harris drove the lane, laying the ball off the glass to make the score 73-70. Field re-extended the lead to five points for UWG with a pair of free throws, but once again the Blazers refused to go away as Panaggio drilled a 3-pointer with 8.7 seconds left.

After two more West Georgia free throws, Panaggio once again drained a 3-pointer, making the score 77-76, but the Blazers couldn’t foul quick enough on the inbounds pass, allowing West Georgia to run off the remaining 1.5 seconds.

On the night, four Blazers scored in double figures, with Panaggio leading the way with 18 points. Sidney Harris added 15 points, with Drew Maynard recording 14 points in the loss. Will Alston finished the night with 13 points. As a team, Valdosta State shot a season-high 56 percent from the floor (30 of 53).

“We just took really good shots,” Helfer said. “We took a couple of bad shots down the stretch that gave them a little bit of momentum, but I thought we took good shots at the right moments for basically about 38 minutes.”

West Georgia was led by the play of Da’Ron Sims, who recorded a career-high 34 points on the night, connecting on 12 of 22 field goal attempts. West Georgia finished the night shooting 50 percent from the floor.

After the two teams played to a 32-32 tie in the opening half, Valdosta State began the second half with a statement, as Maynard brought the crowd to its feet with an alley-oop slam dunk.

West Georgia eventually took a 40-38 lead, but it didn’t last long, as the Blazers re-gained the lead off a Brandon Klunder 3-pointer. Following a West Georgia basket, Panaggio put the lead back into VSU’s possession with a three of his own, giving the Blazers a 47-45 advantage. After UWG evened the game at 47-47, VSU jumped out to a 56-51 lead, with Maynard highlighting the 11-4 run with a reverse dunk.

Unfortunately for VSU, the lead didn’t last long, as West Georgia came charging back to take a 61- 60 off Fields’ long ball.

The Blazers came out on fire to start the game, connecting on their first six shots of the night. Chris Rozier, Maynard and Harris all got into the action. During the run, VSU jumped out to a 15-8 lead, even though West Georgia wasn’t too far behind, starting the game four of seven, three of four from 3-point range.

“Well, we were back at home and the thank you to the crowd, it was just awesome,” Helfer said about the fast start. “That helped us and that motivated us. We bounced back and played really hard.”

The Blazers continued to add to its lead, building a 23-13 advantage. Then, West Georgia came charging back, using a 14-7 run to take a 27-26 lead with 3:19 to play in the opening half. From there, Panaggio and Da’Ron Sims exchanged baskets before Will Alston tied the game with a free throw. Panaggio then drained a 3-pointer to give the Blazers a 32-29 lead. The lead didn’t last long, as West Georgia’s Ryan Godfrey drained a long ball to even the game right before the half.

The Blazers return to action Tuesday night when they host Carver Bible College at the P.E. Complex.