Blazers improve to 7-0 on the season

14 days since the last time the Blazers took the floor and you could tell they were excited to return to action Saturday night.

Valdosta State had four players finish in double figures and led by as much as 28 en route to a 80-70 victory over conference foe West Florida to improve to 7-0. 

“It looked like we were hungry for game action,” head coach Mike Helfer said. “I thought we started incredibly well. We played great the first half and the first 35 minutes then we kind of just loss focus at the end. You just can't do that if you're going to be a good basketball team.”

Forward Jarod Leonard had a season-high 14 points Saturday night. 

Coach Helfer was infuriated during the last 10 minutes of the game as his team allowed UWF to cut the deficit severely.

Despite his frustration with the conclusion of the game, Helfer had plenty to cheer about with his team dominating since tip-off.

Five minutes into the game and the Blazers went on a 17-1 scoring run which included four three-pointers made in a row.

The winless Argos couldn't cool off the Blazers, who shot 48.6 percent from the field in the first half. Defensively, VSU was also sound forcing UWG to 21 points at intermission.

A collective effort from all the starters helped the Blazers get comfortable early but transfer Jarod Leonard was a force to be reckon with inside the paint. 10 of his 14 total points came in the first half. Leonard finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds.

The Argos (0-5, 0-1) outscored the Blazers 49-40 in the second half but it wasn't enough to overcome such a large deficit.

UWF's Terrence Townes (22 points) and Nate Johnson (19 points) did what they could, both combining for 40 of their 80 points.

Blake Justice finished with 12 points, David Murray had 13 points, and Jeremy McKay had 16 points.

“Their kids showed a lot of pride down the stretch to make plays. I just thought we lost focus and when you lose focus if you're not careful, bad things can happen. A lot of credit still goes to our kids – probably the best stretch we've played the entire year,” Helfer said.

Blazers head to Lee on Dec. 19.