VALDOSTA –– The No. 20-ranked Valdosta State men’s basketball team can clinch either a share or its third-straight, outright Gulf South Conference regular season title tonight in the regular season finale against Auburn Montgomery at The Complex. Tip is set for 8 p.m. as it also is Senior Night for the Blazers.

The Blazers (22-5, 15-4 GSC) can clinch the outright league title with a win and a West Alabama loss at Mississippi College. If both teams win, they will share the title and if both lose they also will share. The only way VSU wouldn’t clinch at least a share of the title is if VSU loses and West Alabama wins.

VSU has a great shot to be the top-seed in the upcoming Gulf South Conference Tournament and will host a “Super Tuesday” game on Mar. 5, in the quarterfinal round of the league championship. Should VSU win on Mar. 5, it would advance to Birmingham, Ala., for the GSC semifinal round on Mar. 9 at the Pete Hanna Center, with the league championship game set for Mar. 10. Check back with vstateblazers.com for more information on how to purchase tickets for the Mar. 5 game at The Complex.

For Thursday’s game, fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the men’s basketball schedule page. The game also will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM with Mike Chason having the call of the game.

Thursday also marks Senior Night as VSU will honor seven seniors playing in their final regular season home game in a Blazer uniform. This storied senior class includes; Desmond DeRamus, Max Harris, Keshawn Ingram, Tyler Johnson, Beau Justice, Winston Morgan and Greg Zuppas.

VSU is going for its third-straight league title with a win tonight against the Warhawks (8-19, 4-15 GSC). The Blazers have won the last two outright titles and have won three divisional titles in 2009, 2004 and 2002.

The Blazers moved up to 20th this week in the latest NABC Top 25. Nova Southeastern remained No. 3, followed by Lynn at No. 16, VSU at 20th and Morehouse at 21st among teams in the South Region. Alabama Huntsville and Florida Southern are among others receiving votes. The newest NCAA Regional rankings will be released on Wednesday afternoon. Check back with vstateblazers.com for a complete region ranking story following the announcement of the rankings.

The Blazers have won eight straight games and can match their season-long winning streak with a win tonight as the team began the season 9-0. VSU won a hard-fought game at West Alabama on Saturday, pulling away from the Tigers in the second half and used clutch free throw shooting down the stretch for the victory. VSU outscored UWA 33-24 in the second half after leading 34-30 at intermission. DeRamus had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the team as VSU snapped the Tigers’ 11-game winning streak, 67-54. Prior to that game, VSU won 85-69 at West Florida on Thursday as it also pulled away from the upset-minded Argos in the second half.

The Warhawks snapped a four-game skid with a 79-63 win versus Shorter on Senior Night last Saturday. AUM is averaging 75.2 points per game, while allowing 81.3 points per game this season. The Warhawks are shooting .453 from the field, while the opposition is shooting at a .476 clip. AUM has drained 231 3-pointers this season, while the opposition has 246 from beyond the arc. The Warhawks are shooting .727 from the line, while averaging 32.9 rebounds per game and allowing 36.6 per contest. Individually, Carlos Bell leads five players in double figures at 14.3 points per game. He is 120 of 267 from the field (.449) and 30 of 98 from beyond the arc, while going 103 of 136 (.757) from the line. Bell is second on the team in rebounding at 6.4 per game. Darrion Taylor is second in scoring at 12.9 points per game, while ranking second in made field goals with 121 and leads the team with 68 made 3-pointers. Aaron Reddick is third in scoring at 11.0 points per game and lead the team in rebounding at 8.0 per game. Reddick has a team-high 125 made field goals and a .628 average on 125 of 199.

Last time against the Warhawks, VSU raced out to a 63-39 lead at halftime and cruised for a 113-91 win on Jan. 26, 2019, in Montgomery, Ala. Five VSU players were in double figures led by a game-high 31 points from Justice as VSU shot an even 50 percent from the field. Juniors Bryce Smith and Goree Venable had 16 points and 14 points, respectively, off the bench in the game. AUM had five players in double figures led by 18 points from Kenneth Keith and a double-double from Bell with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Following the game, VSU will learn who it will host for “Super Tuesday.” Check back with vstateblazers.com for the Gulf South Conference Tournament bracket when it is announced.