Tristan Steele and Michael Panaggio combined to hit 12 three-pointers to lead Valdosta State to a 100-65 victory over Coastal Georgia in non-conference men’s basketball action at The Complex Wednesday evening.

With the win, Valdosta State improved to 11-14 on the year while Coastal Georgia fell to 5-22.

 Coastal Georgia struggled against the bigger Valdosta State team in the early going as the Mariners made just eight of their first 27 field goal attempts. VSU took advantage of the slump as it shook off a rough early start, which saw the Blazers hit just five of their first 12 field goals, to score on 10 of its next 12 attempts to build a 38-19 advantage with 6:00 to play in the first half.

 The Mariners got no closer than 15 points the rest of the half while the VSU lead grew to 54-32 at the intermission.

 Valdosta State shot 60.0 percent during the first 20 minutes of play as it connected on 21-of-35 field goal attempts, including 6-of-12 three-pointers. Meanwhile, the Mariners hit 10 of its 33 first half shots to shoot 30.3 percent.

 Coastal Georgia never challenged in the second half as the Mariners got no closer than 16 points during the final 20 minutes of play. Meanwhile, VSU used a 10-1 run midway through the half to grab its largest lead at 71-44.

Steele opened the run with a three-pointer before Will Alston hit a bucket in the lane and converted on the free throw after being fouled. After Marcus Morrison hit one of two free throws for CCS, Michael Panaggio closed out the spurt with a three from the right corner. The Blazer guard was also fouled on the play and converted on the free throw to give VSU its 27-point lead with 12:12 to play in the contest.

 The Blazer advantage got no lower than 23 points the rest of the half while topping out at 38 points at 100-62.

 Panaggio hit seven of the 14 trifectas for the Blazers and set a new career-high with a game-leading 28 points while     also dishing out six assists. Meanwhile, Steele added five more three-pointers and had 19 points while Alston, Brandon Klunder and Josh Sparks all tallied 11 in the game.

 Valdosta State shot 53.0 percent from the floor in the game as the Blazers hit 35-of-66 field goal attempts, including 14-of-30 threes. VSU dished out a season-high 22 assists and had 13 steals while also blocking four shots.

 Morrison led Coastal Georgia with 25 points as he hit 8-of-15 shots. Overall, the Mariners connected on 23-of-66 attempts to shoot 34.8 percent in the game and also held a 40-38 advantage in rebounding, but turned the ball over 22 times.

 Valdosta State closes out the 2011-12 regular season Saturday, February 25 at 5:00 p.m. EST when it travels to Pensacola, Fla. to face West Florida.