Both the Blazers and Lady Blazers picked up their first conference wins of the season after playing Shorter University on Monday night.

The Lady Blazers came into Monday’s game after suffering a tough loss on Saturday to Lee University.

Even being down their starting point guard, VSU played valiantly. They gave the flames all they could handle down the stretch before Lee pulled away with free throws at the end of the game.

Head coach Deandra Schirmer and her squad came into Winthrop-King Centre on Monday with a goal to pick up their first conference win of the season, and the Lady Blazers did just that.

The first half was all VSU as the Lady Blazers scored as many second quarter points as the Lady Hawks did in the first half.

Coming out of halftime with a commanding 42-22 lead, the Blazer remained hot the rest of the game.

Led by guard Emma Martin and forward Aleisha Curry who both scored 12 a piece, the Blazers won by nearly 30 in an 81-52 rout of the Lady Hawks.

With this wind, the Lady Blazers improve to 4-2 on the season and pick up their first gulf south conference win of the season.

As for the men’s squad, coming into this game they were throttled by conference opponent Lee 87-73.

As many know, basketball is a game of runs, and the early 16-4 run by the Flames to start off the game were too much for the Blazers to catch up to.

While winning on the road in conference play can be difficult, the Blazers set their eyes on Rome, Georgia, looking to pick up their first conference win of the year as well.

The game started off as a back-and-forth barnburner as both squads traded buckets back and forth early on.

The play that seemed to change the game was a tough layup by Blazers guard JC Clausi that beat the first half buzzer, putting VSU up 37-33 at the break.

Once the Blazers stepped back on the court for the second half, the Hawks tried all they could to slow VSU down, but it was no use.

Clausi led the way in scoring with 18, with help from his forward Mike Isler. The Blazers outscored the Hawks 41-29 in the second half, ultimately concluding with the Blazers winning 78-62.

Both squads return to The Complex on Friday, Dec. 1 to host Delta State as both the Blazers and Lady Blazers look to start off December with a win.

Written by Jack Calhoun, Sports Editor. Photo Courtesy of Austin Bruce, Co Editor in Chief.