SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – Tyrone Curnell recorded his 11^th double-double of the season to lead Valdosta State to a 74-61 victory over Arkansas-Monticello in the first round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament at the DeSoto Civic Center Friday afternoon.

 Valdosta State (25-3) controlled much of the first half of play as it used an early 9-1 run to grab the lead. With the contest tied at 14-14, Marquis Robinson began the run with a lay-up and, after a free throw by UAM (14-11), added a dunk to put VSU in front by three. The senior forward added a put-back basket on Valdosta State’s next trip down the floor while Christian Hunter closed out the run with a three in the right corner to post the Blazers to a 23-15 lead with 9:08 remaining in the first half.

 Arkansas-Monticello fought back over the ensuing five minutes of play, cutting its deficit to 27-26, only to have VSU close the half on a 7-0 run to grab a 34-26 halftime lead.

 The Blazer big men controlled the game during the first half as Curnell scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Robinson finished the half with 10 points and five rebounds. The duo combined to hit nine of the VSU 13 field goals in the half while Curnell also tallied three assists and two blocked shots.

 Valdosta State’s defense contributed to the halftime lead as the Boll Weevils were limited to just 31.3 percent shooting in the half while UAM also committed eight turnovers in the frame.

 The Blazers opened the second half with an 18-8 run to grab control of the contest. Marvin Dibble opened the half with a three-pointer while Curnell added three free throws. Tristan Crawford added a trifecta and a fast break jumper while Charles Belton also scored on a fast break before Dibble closed out the run with a tip-in that posted VSU to a 52-34 lead.

 A Ricardo Lewis three-pointer with 10:33 remaining gave Valdosta State its largest lead at 61-40 before Arkansas-Monticello fought back over the ensuing two minutes of play with a 10-3 run. Nick Carey spurred the run with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws while Jeremy LaGarde closed out the spurt with a three to pull the Boll Weevils to within 14 points.

 A Crawford three-pointer pushed VSU’s advantage back to 17 points while UAM scored seven of the next nine points to continue to inch closer. However, despite holding Valdosta State to just one field goal over the final five minutes of play, the Boll Weevils got no closer than 12 points.

 Curnell closed out the game with 18 points and 13 rebounds as well as five assists and three blocks while Robinson finished with 17 points and six boards. Lewis also finished in double figures with 11 points as VSU shot 43.3 percent from the field in the contest. The Blazers, who connected on nine-of-17 threes, also owned a 42-40 advantage in rebounding and turned the ball over just 11 times.

 

Arkansas-Monticello was led by Jerrell Turner, who scored 16 points on six-of-16 shooting. Carey added 11 points for a UAM squad that shot 38.1 percent from the field in the contest.

 

Valdosta State advances to Saturday’s Gulf South Conference semifinal round against the winner of the Arkansas Tech-West Georgia game. Saturday’s game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. Eastern start.