Box Score VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Shorter men's basketball team ran into a cold spell at the wrong time Saturday night  when the host Valdosta State Blazers took control in the final eight minutes and hand the Hawks an 83-74 defeat in a Gulf South Conference game in Valdosta.

The loss, coming on the heels of a last-second win at West Florida two days earlier, leaves the Hawks with a 9-15 overall and 6-12 in the GSC heading into their final road trip of the season Tuesday when they visit West Georgia in Carrollton.

Against the Blazers, Shorter was in command for most of the first half, building as much as an eight point lead before eventually taking a 43-41 advantage into the locker room at the half after the Hawks converted nearly 50 percent of their shots from the floor and outrebounded VSU under the glass, 23-15.

That momentum appeared to carry over into the second half as Shorter increased its lead to six in the opening minutes when Brock Rowan hit a three-pointer.

But after Dedric Ware saw his three-pointer hit the bottom of the net with 8:46 to play and give his team a 60-59 edge, Shorter's last lead, the Hawks got out of sync.

The Blazers (15-9, 9-9) took the lead a minute later and never looked back, coming up with a 17-5 run and eventually grabbing their largest lead of the night, 76-65, with just over three minutes to go.

Jordan Jacks and Brandon Pullman led the Hawks, with Jacks recording his 13^th double-double game of the season producing 21 points and 11 rebounds while Pullman also ended the game with 21.

Rowan had his best outing of the year with a season-high 14 points and Ware added 12.

Valdosta's Blake Justice led all scorers with 23 points as the Blazers placed five players in double figures.

After squaring off with West Georgia on Tuesday, the Hawks return home to host GSC rival Lee on next Saturday in the final game of regular season.