VALDOSTA, GA. –The Auburn Montgomery men's basketball team knocked down a season-high 33 field goals and battled down the stretch with #25 Valdosta State but would eventually fall to the Blazers 91-87 in Gulf South Conference action on Friday, Feb. 12.   
 
With the loss, AUM drops to 2-7 on the season, while Valdosta State improves to 11-4.
 
For the first time this season, five different Warhawks scored in double figures. Maharrith Jackson led AUM with 19 points, while Roderick Smith and Sam Youngblood both tallied 18 points apiece.
 
Both Jackson and Smith finished one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards each. Stanley Davis accounted for 12 points and five rebounds, while Jeremiah Bozeman logged 11 points and four assists. 
 
After both scoring 11 points over the first five minutes to begin the game, AUM would rattle off a 10-0 run from the 14:45 mark to the 10:52 mark to lead 21-11 over the Blazers. 
 
Valdosta State responded over the next seven minutes, however, with a 16-6 run to tie the game up at 27-all with 3:44 to go until halftime. The Warhawks would then outscore VSU 10-9 over the final 10 minutes and change to take a 37-36 lead into intermission. 
 
Both teams tallied nine points over the first four minutes of half number two, as a Bozeman layup at the 15:52 mark put the Warhawks up 46-45. 
 
The Blazers would go on to heat up and knock down 10 of their next 12 shots, including 4-4 from beyond the arc, as part of a 25-13 run over the next six minutes to lead 70-59 over AUM with 9:45 to play.
 
Valdosta State's lead would sway between single and double digits over the next eight minutes, but the Warhawks would work their way back into the game over the final minute of play.
 
With the Blazers on top 84-74 with 1:14 to go, the Warhawks would score eight of the games next nine points, including a clutch three-point basket by Youngblood with 31 seconds to go to shrink VSU's lead to just 85-82. 
 
Despite the fight from AUM, the Blazers would go on to ice the contest by sinking all six of their final free-throw attempts. 
 
The Warhawks knocked down 17 of 30 field goals in half number two to finish the game at 49 percent (33-67), their second-best field goal percentage of the season. The Orange and Black additionally totaled a season-high 52 points in the paint. 

Both teams shot 33 percent from the three-point line, with AUM knocking down six of 18 and VSU converting on 11 of 33. 
 
Friday night's game featured five lead changes and three tied scores. 
 
The men's basketball team will play their second and final game of their weekend set with the Blazers on Saturday, Feb. 13. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. (CST).
 
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