MEMPHIS-Visiting Valdosta State out-scored the Christian Brothers University Bucs 28-11 over the final 9:14 Saturday night as they rallied to claim a 73-63 victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The first half was see-saw throughout, with eight ties, five lead changes and no lead of more than five points.
• The Bucs (6-7, 4-3 GSC) seemed to seize control early in the second half, starting the half on an 8-0 run that gave them a 39-30 lead on an Adam Dieball (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East HS) bucket with 17:52 remaining.
• The Bucs kept a lead of at least three points through the 10-minute mark, when #J.T. Moody# scored a fastbreak tip-in to give CBU a 52-45 edge. From there, however, Valdosta (9-3, 5-2) used a 9-0 run to take a 54-52 lead on a Shaun Jones layup with 7:38 remaining, and they would never trail again.
• The Blazers began to pull away with a 10-2 run capped by a Chris Longoria free throw that gave VSU a 67-58 edge with 3:09 remaining. During the stretch, the Bucs were 1-of-3 from the floor but missed three straight free throws while in the bonus, and CBU never came closer than seven points again.

KEY STATS:
• Dieball led the Bucs with 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, shooting 8-of-11 from the floor.
• Drew Hildreth (Memphis, Tenn./Bolton HS) scored 14 points with eight rebounds and three blocks.
• Jeff Larkin (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) tacked on 13 with two assists.
• CBU shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the floor but just 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from three-point range, missing their final 12 after making three of their first six.
• The Blazers shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the floor including 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from beyond the arc.
• Both teams struggled at the free throw line, with CBU shooting 47.1 percent (8-of-17) to the Blazers' 44.4 percent (12-of-27).
• Valdosta out-rebounded the Bucs 40-39, but CBU had a 15-14 edge in offensive rebounds. The Bucs committed 16 turnovers while forcing 14 from VSU.

COACH NIENABER'S THOUGHTS:
"We took control of the game early in the second half. We were getting stops and we were scoring. Then we got into a stretch where we were getting stops and we couldn't get a rebound. That has haunted us a lot this year. We've been doing a better job this year, we did a good job in the first half. We're just not aggressive enough at times, and strong enough with the basketball."

"And the other thing is, our shooting was just atrocious. We didn't make a three the whole second half. With Adam playing the way he is inside, we're getting plenty of looks."

"The sequence where they went up 8, we missed three front ends of a one-and-one. At the end of the day, you have to make 'em. Somebody's gotta step up and make a shot."

"When we built the lead, Adam had a couple of assists, Tyler had a couple of baskets. A lot of it was layups when Adam would hit guys, and we scored."

"It just hurts because it was a game we felt like was going our way and we let it go."

"We can't let what happened at the end of the game tonight beat us Monday, we have to come back ready to play Monday."

WHAT'S NEXT:
The Bucs return to action Monday night at 7 p.m. as they host West Florida.