MEMPHIS-The Christian Brothers University Bucs dug out of a 13-point first-half deficit as they won 85-77 over Valdosta State Thursday night to remain unbeaten in Gulf South Conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The Blazers (6-2, 1-1 GSC) used an 11-0 run early in the first half to take command, as a Jimmy Kodet triple gave them a 26-13 lead with 11:15 remaining in the half.
• The Bucs steadily cut into the lead, eventually closing within 34-31 when a Mitch Mays (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East HS) dunk with 4:28 remaining in the half capped a 7-0 run.
• CBU regained the lead for good when they opened the second half on a 25-7 run capped by a Jeff Larkin (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) three-pointer that gave them a 60-48 lead with 11:35 remaining. The Bucs never allowed Valdosta closer than five points again.
• The Blazers closed within five points three times in the final six minutes - twice, Joe Laravie (Kettering, Ohio/Alter HS) answered quickly, and the final time a Jordan Miller (Fulton, Ky./Fulton City HS) jumper sparked a 6-0 burst that extended the Bucs' lead back to double-figures at 78-67 on a Cody Garbuzinski (Memphis, Tenn./Christian Brothers HS) basket with 1:21 remaining.

KEY STATS:
• Laravie scored a career-high 27 points, making 8-of-14 shots including 6-of-10 three-pointers. He also added four rebounds and a pair of assists.
• Larkin scored 16 with a pair of steals.
• Adam Dieball (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East HS) scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half and narrowly missed his first career triple-double. He set career-highs with 13 rebounds, nine assists and four blocks.
• Miller scored 11 points with five rebounds and three assists in 11 minutes off the bench.
• The Bucs shot 52.6 percent (30-of-57) overall, including 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from three-point range. VSU finished 43.3 percent (29-of-67) overall, including 28 percent (7-of-25) from beyond the arc.
• CBU out-rebounded the Blazers 38-35, with each team grabbing 10 offensive boards. The Bucs committed 17 turnovers to VSU's 10.

HEAD COACH MIKE NIENABER'S THOUGHTS:
"I felt like early, the whole flow of the game was going the way we didn't need it to go. The game winding up at 77 means the last 30 minutes, we played at our pace. We'd really like them to be in the 60's, but we let them come out so fast and let them get so many easy baskets in transition. They had the game going their way. A lot of it, I felt like we were sloppy and we turned the ball over a lot in the first half. We had real turnovers and we had shot turnovers. We took bad shots. But we settled down and we played pretty good defense the rest of the night, and that was the key."

"This is a really good team. They're going to win a lot of games, they're capable of beating anybody in the Gulf South. Unfortunately there's a lot of teams like that in the Gulf South."

"We're a very good shooting team when we take good shots. Early in the game, I felt we took some bad shots and quick shots. When we settled down, got good looks. I think that's the key, Joe is taking really good looks. He is a very good shooter. He made some big threes tonight, but he made some big ones in the game we won at Trevecca. You just can't say enough."

On Jordan Miller:
"He didn't get a lot of minutes, and I feel bad every time I'm not playing him more. But the pace of the game early, when it was going so fast, and I didn't want to take Adam out. But I finally put him in with Adam, and that turned out to be a good move for the minutes he played. I thought he did a really good job for us. He had 11 points in 11 minutes. And five rebounds in 11 minutes. He really came in there hungry. I've spent a good part of the last year trying to figure out a way to get him and Adam in there more together, and it just never seems to gel. But I think maybe it's starting to now."

"I felt like one of the critical points of the game. They went zone and we got a little stationary. But I think the one thing that got them, because they're not a team that plays a lot of zone, was we got some really big offensive rebounds when they were zoning us. Because you just don't get the normal block-outs you get in man to man."

"Seeing Adam pull 13 rebounds is the thing that has been missing from his game. If he starts pulling close to double digit rebounds night in and night out, he's starting to look more and more like Nick Kohs, but with a three-point shot. He played really well. To win games like this, your veterans have got to step up. Adam gave us a quality game, Jeff gave us a great game. When it was going bad early, he kept us in the game. He made some big shots early that kept the game close or we might have been down 20 before we knew what hit us."

WHAT'S NEXT:
The Bucs wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. as they host West Florida.