VALDOSTA, Ga. -- Valdosta State withstood a furious second-half rally by Augusta State and edged the Jaguars 60-56 in a non-conference matchup Wednesday night at The Complex.
The Jaguars, who dropped to 2-2 on the season, trailed by as many as 18 points with 7:49 remaining after a 3-pointer from VSU's Tristan Steele. Tye Beal then caught fire, scoring nine of the next 11 points as ASU cut its deficit to single digits.
When Harold Doby drained a pair of free throws with 2:13 left, it capped a 19-3 run over a stretch of 5:36 and the Jags were within two at 56-54. The Blazers (3-2) answered on their next possession with a Michael Panaggio bucket before Doby countered with a driving layup for a 58-56 VSU lead with 1:33 to play.
After forcing a turnover, ASU misfired on four straight shots, the last by Devonte Thomas with 10 seconds to go. The Jags were forced to foul, and Panaggio canned two free throws with four ticks left to seal the Blazer win.
Doby registered a team-high 13 points and nine rebounds, just missing his third double-double in his first four games. Armstrong and Beal each carded nine points and three assists and Thomas added eight points.
Drew Maynard pitched in a game-high 16 points, while Steele and Chris Rozier chipped in 12 each for VSU, which recorded 10 blocks and limited ASU to a .308 field-goal percentage.
The Jags connected on only 4-of-18 3-point attempts (18.2 percent) but went 12-of-13 at the free-throw line (92.3 percent).
The Blazers never trailed and pushed their advantage out to eight points midway through the opening half. The Jags answered with eight straight from Thomas and closed within one at 25-24 with 5:20 left. ASU didn't score the rest of the way, however, as VSU closed the half on a 9-0 spurt and claimed a 34-24 halftime lead. The Jags misfired on their last seven attempts before the break.
ASU opens its Peach Belt Conference schedule at Francis Marion on Saturday, Dec. 3 in Florence, S.C. The contest is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m., tip from Smith University Center. Live stats will be available at http://fmustats.fmarion.edu and a live webcast will be available at http://www.ustream.tv/fmupatriots.
