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PENSACOLA, Fla. – Junior Jelani Pruitt started hot and stayed hot as he finished with a career-high 30 points to lead the West Florida men's basketball team to a 96-85 victory over North Alabama at the UWF Field House on Saturday.
 
Pruitt who had battled early season injuries and scored just 19 points in three games thus far, made seven of his first 10 shots from the field and had 17 points and eight boards after the opening half in which the Argoanuts built a 48-23 lead. Pruitt had a game- and career-high 15 rebounds along with seven assists and four steals.
 
The difference came early in the first half when UWF used a 31-5 run to stake a 35-10 lead. With the Lions holding a 5-4 lead, Junior Mario Stramaglia started the run with consecutive 3-pointers to give the Argos a lead they never relinquished. The run also featured another Stramaglia triple, one from classmate Jason Laatsch and a 3-point play from Pruitt.
 
The margin stayed around 20 points for the majority of the second half before UNA ended the game on a 10-0 over the final two minutes.
 
UWF (2-3, 1-1 Gulf South Conference) shot a season-high 55 pct. and was 10 of 19 – 53 pct. – from outside. Stramaglia and Laatsch made four triples each and Justin Williams added two.
 
Laatsch finished with a season-high 20 points, after scoring just 15 in four games this season. Stramaglia posted his fifth-consecutive game in double figures, finishing with 12 points. He was 4 of 9 from outside and has made at least four 3-pointers in four of five games.
 
Junior Deangelo Legrier had 12 points and a game-high four blocks, while graduate student Lendward Griffin posted 10 points.
 
The Argonauts held a lead on the glass, securing a 41-35 rebounding edge and assisted on 23 of 34 field goals.
 
UNA (3-5, 0-2) had three players in double figures, led by Tavaras Tolliver's 17 off the bench. The Lions shot 48 pct. but committed 19 turnovers that the Argos turned into 27 points.
 
UWF's 96 points are the most against a GSC opponent since also scoring 96 in a 98-96 loss to Shorter on Feb. 20, 2014.
 
UWF will hit the road next weekend, playing at Lee on Saturday, Dec. 12 for a 4:00 p.m. Eastern time game and Shorter on Monday, Dec, 14 for a 7:00 p.m. ET tip.