Valdosta State senior Will Alston (3) is fouled by West Florida's Marquis Mathis (23) during the first half of Saturday night's game at the P.E. Complex in Valdosta.

The Valdosta State men’s basketball team’s conference woes continued Saturday night, as the Blazers fell to the West Florida Argonauts 73-63 in front of the second largest crowd in school history.

The loss didn’t come without a hard effort from the Blazers, who overcame several double-digit deficits in the second half.

“I thought our guys played hard there and scratched down the stretch,” Valdosta State head coach Mike Helfer said. “We made some plays and we at least made (West Florida) think about it a bit. Give them credit, they made the free throws at the end, but our guys didn’t stop or give up at the end.”

After West Florida took a 12-point lead with 4:45 remaining, the Blazers came fighting back, closing the gap to just four points with 2:02 remaining. Junior Drew Maynard led the charge, scoring three consecutive baskets during the run.  

The Blazers started the run by using back-to-back Mike Holloway free throws and a Maynard fast break layup to bring the deficit back to eight points with 3:07 to play. Following a steal by Michael Panaggio, Maynard brought the game back to six points with a reverse layup, making the score 61-55.

After a West Florida turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass, Maynard delivered another layup, which was set up off a Josh Sparks miss. The basket made the score 61-57.

“We all worked out butts off,” Maynard said. “The crowd was very into it, and I thought we were going to pull it off there at the end.”

Following two free throws from West Florida, Panaggio brought the Blazers right back with a layup of his own. On the other end, UWF added to its lead with two more free throws, which were followed up by back-to-back misses from the charity stripe by Maynard. Valdosta State was forced to foul the Argonauts after the miss, sending the solid free throw shooting team back to the line.

As expected, the Argonauts converted both free throws, making the score 67-59. On the other end, the Blazers drew a technical foul, and Panaggio was able to convert both shots. But that was the closest VSU would come, as the Argonauts drilled five more free throws and two flagrant free throws, which were set up after Tristan Steele was ejected with 26 seconds to play, to secure the victory.

“It is frustrating, but then again that is how we have to play,” Maynard said of Steele’s foul. “We can’t have guys running down the court with 40 seconds left in the game and getting a wide open shot. It was a great foul from him. Whether it was intentional or not, it needed to be done.”

Valdosta State dominated the offensive glass, racking up 16 rebounds, which helped the Blazers finish the night with 20 second-chance points. West Florida managed just seven offensive rebounds.

On the night, Maynard led the way with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Panaggio recorded a team-high 16 points. Holloway finished with 11 points.

“I thought Drew played really well,” Helfer said. “I thought he played really hard, as you can see by how much he was sweating. I thought he played really hard, and we need that, and I expect that night in and night out.”

For West Florida, Jamar Moore, who is widely thought of as one of the conference’s best players, scored a game-high 20 points, while hauling in 13 rebounds.

West Florida held a 38-29 lead at half, using a strong 27-17 run across the final 13:42 to slingshot out in front. The run came after Valdosta State took a 12-11 lead, which came after the Blazers held an early 5-0 lead behind some hot shooting from Panaggio.

In the opening half, West Florida shot 55 percent from the floor, while Valdosta State shot just 37 percent (10 of 27). In the half, West Florida attempted no 3-pointers, while Valdosta State was 3 of 9.