Valdosta State’s men’s basketball team had a strong defensive effort, forcing 19 turnovers and holding Wilmington to just 33.3 percent shooting, and defeated the Wildcats 74-63 in the first round of play at the McDonald Fleming Moorhead UWF Christmas Classic on Thursday.

Five Blazers scored in double figures, led by Kevin Harris with 16. Will Alston had 14 points for VSU. Josh Sparks and Martrez Scott scored 12 points each, while Billy McShepard added 10. McShepard also finished with 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.

Both teams came out cold. Valdosta State (11-2) connected on just three of its first eight shots, while Wilmington (5-5) hit three out of its first 10 field goal attempts. Matthew King gave the Wildcats their only lead of the game when he threw down a dunk for the first two points of the game. The Blazers responded with a 7-0 run, sparked by five points from Harris, to grab the lead.

WU fought back and eventually tied the game at 9-9 a little over five minutes into the contest, only to have Valdosta State turn up the defensive intensity over the ensuing 10 minutes. The Blazers forced nine turnovers during the 10-minute span, including a stretch where they forced turnovers on six straight Wilmington possessions. Meanwhile, the VSU offense heated up, making 8-of-18 field goals to build a 28-18 lead with 5:38 to go in the first half.

The Blazers’ lead stretched to as much as 14 points over the remainder of the half. VSU led 34-22 at halftime.

After its brief hot streak from the floor, Valdosta State ended up shooting 38.2 percent during the frame, connecting on 13-of-34 field goal attempts. The Blazers also hit just 5-of-14 first half free throws, but owned a 29-19 advantage in rebounding, while holding Wilmington to just 8-of-30 (26.7 percent) from the field.

After missing its first four shots of the second half, VSU once against found its range. The Blazers connected on six of seven attempts to push its advantage to 48-30 with 14:29 left in the game. Five different Blazers scored during the run, led by Will Alston, who tallied two of the baskets.

Wilmington responded with a 14-4 run over the next five minutes of play to close to within eight points. After connecting on just one of their first 15 three-point attempts, the Wildcats got back-to-back threes from Corye Payton, who also added a dunk, during the run. Herbert Dennis closed out the spurt with a lay-up that closed WU to within 52-44 with 9:00 remaining on the clock.

Valdosta State responded with an 18-5 run to recapture a double-digit lead and, after connecting on just eight of its first 20 free throws, hit 9-of-14 in the final 3:29 of play to fend off the Wildcats.

VSU made 27-of-61 field goal attempts to shoot 44.3 percent from the floor, and owned a 49-35 advantage in rebounds in the contest.

Payton scored 20 points off the bench to lead Wilmington. No other Wildcat player scored in double figures. WU connected on 21-of-63 shots in the game, and was just 7-of-26 from beyond the three-point arc.

Valdosta State returns to action today at 5 p.m. Eastern, when it completes play in the tournament with a game against Mercy.