VALDOSTA –– Layups, 3-pointers, you name it –– not much went right for No. 9 Valdosta State (10-2) as it fell 77-73 to Emmanuel College (9-6) on Sunday.

Back at home and playing their first game since Dec. 17, the Blazers had holiday rust caked on rather thick. Boasting the No. 4-ranked scoring offense in the nation, the Blazers shot a season-worst 34.2 percent from the floor and an equally-horrific 6-of-27 from 3-point territory.

The Lions took the fight to the Blazers in the paint and with their effort, often beating the Blazers to loose balls and outmuscling them for second-shot opportunities. Thirty-nine personal fouls were called with both teams combining for 47 free throw attempts in the game.

As Blazers coach Mike Helfer bemoaned after the loss, the Blazers simply couldn’t match the level of physicality the Lions brought into The Complex on Sunday.

“We never matched (Emmanuel’s) physical play,” Helfer said. “They kind of made the game very physical and aggressive and we couldn’t match that. And we’ve had trouble with that for the last three or four years –– when teams make it real physical like that, that’s how you beat us.”

Despite their offensive struggles, the Blazers gave themselves chances late by amping up their defensive effort and making timely baskets. Trailing 58-51 with 8:43 left in the game, senior Winston Morgan breathed life into the Blazers with back-to-back 3s to cut the Emmanuel lead to one with 7:59 to go.

A free throw by the Blazers’ Darrell Jones tied the game at 58 before the Lions’ Nathan Williams buried a 3-pointer to stop the run. The Blazers’ Keshawn Ingram made a layup to make it a 61-60 lead for the Lions only to be answered by a triple from Emmanuel’s Brandon Simpson to put the Lions up 64-60 with 5:27 to play.

Jones scored six straight points to put VSU back in front 66-64 with 3:44 to go –– the first Blazers lead since 5-0 in the opening minute of the game.

Consecutive layups by the Lions’ Kendrick Colvin gave Emmanuel a 69-68 lead with 2:31 to play before a pair of free throws by Beau Justice pulled the Blazers ahead 70-69 with 1:39 left. However, a turnover by Jones led to a Simpson layup to give the Lions a 71-70 lead.

Two free throws by Lions guard Austin Greene extended the Emmanuel lead to 73-70 with 31 seconds left. A quick layup by Jones drew the Blazers within a point before Greene split at the line to make it a 74-72 game with 19 seconds left.

Justice drove the lane and drew a foul on the Lions’ Mikel Tyson with 11 seconds to go in regulation. Needing to sink both, Justice –– an 82.7 percent free throw shooter this season –– saw his first attempt go halfway down before being coughed up by the rim. The senior guard looked up to the rafters in disbelief as his first missed free throw caromed away. 

Justice made the second free throw but the Blazers would get no closer as a free throw by Colvin and two more by Simpson iced the game with 3 seconds to go.

“I thought it was in there, even though it rolled around, I still thought it was going in,” Justice said of the missed free throw. “It felt as good as all my other ones. I’d made all my other ones with confidence. My job is to go up there and make both of them.

“I knew I was gonna hit the second one no matter what. … It just puts us in a whole different scenario when our whole team thinks I’m gonna hit both of these and we’re gonna go into overtime and win. Then, we’re playing handicapped down one. It is what it is. … I ain’t gonna miss any more, I’ll tell you that.”

Colvin was impressive for the Lions, going for 21 points and 12 rebounds while dishing five assists and blocking two shots in 33 minutes. Greene added 17 points and two steals and Simpson finished with 15 points and nine rebounds as the Lions won their second straight game.

The Blazers started slowly on both ends, trailing by as many as 10 points. Though the Blazers appeared to wake up on the defensive end in the second half, Helfer didn’t mince words about how his veteran team approached the game. 

“I don’t know –– you would think that a team with seven seniors wouldn’t have to wake up,” Helfer deadpanned.

Justice led the Blazers with 16 points, but shot just 5-of-14 from the floor along with six rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes. Jones added 15 points and nine rebounds along with three assists and three steals while Morgan had 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting and 4-of-12 from 3-point range.

Clay Guillozet posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds but fouled out after 30 minutes of play.

The Lions shot 50 percent in the second half and held the Blazers to 38.2 percent shooting in the second half. The Lions also outrebounded the Blazers 50-49. Despite the Blazers pulling down 18 offensive rebounds, the Lions won the edge in paint points 44-40.

UP NEXT

Valdosta State hosts West Florida on Thursday. The Argos were the only team in the Gulf South Conference to beat the Blazers in the regular season last season.

“We have to be more physical and understand that the teams that make it physical are the ones that are gonna have success against us by slowing it down, so you’ve got to try to find a way to win those games,” Helfer said. “The only way to do that is to be more physical and be more aggressive and play each possession like it matters –– like it’s the last possession of the game.”