BOX SCORE (PDF) January 30, 2016 PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida men's basketball team fell to Shorter in Pensacola in a double overtime 94-92 loss on Saturday. UWF now stands at 3-14 on the year with a 2-12 conference record.
UWF's ability to force turnovers and draw fouls helped the Argo cause in the first 12 minutes, as the Argos cut the deficit to just a point near the 7:00 mark by forcing five SU turnovers and drawing eight fouls.
Austin Somerfield got off to a hot start, shooting 4-5 from the floor and totaling nine points and four rebounds in his first 12 minutes on the court.
West Florida trailed 30-26 going into halftime, and Somerfield led all players with 10 points. The Argonauts were able to capitalize on Shorter's 10 turnovers, scoring 7 points.
Deangelo Legrier was a factor in the first half as well, scoring on both of his tries from the field, each of his two free throws, and grabbing three rebounds.
Somerfield kicked off the second half with back-to-back baskets to even the score at 30. Following a three-pointer from Shorter, Legrier scored back-to-back buckets to give UWF its first lead of the half.
SU stretched the lead to as much as six midway through the second half, but Somerfield converted an and-one opportunity, and
Jason Laatsch hit a three-pointer with 9:45 remaining to even the score at 51. Laatsch hit another 3 just a minute later to give UWF a 56-52 lead.
West Florida kept the Hawks close and led by as much as four in the half. UWF erased a five-point Shorter lead with a 3 from
Rashaan Benson and two free throws from Legrier with 2:22 left.
The teams battled for the last two minutes, going back-and-forth until time expired and the game was sent to the first of two overtime periods. UWF was hot in the first overtime period, shooting 3-4 from the field with a converted three-pointer on the team's only try.
Shorter quickly jumped to a four-point lead in the second overtime that UWF could not overtake. Somerfield shrunk the deficit to two points with the last of his 33 points with 1:31 left, and Benson eventually tied the game with two free throws. Shorter's Trevor McDade made a layup with just three seconds remaining to seal the win for Shorter.
Benson added a career-high 11 assists to his 14 points for his first career double-double, and Legrier finished the night with 18 points and seven rebounds. The game featured 17 lead changes and 16 ties, Somerfield finished with 33 points and 13 rebounds while playing the full 50 minutes for UWF and Laatsch played the full time until fouling out with 16 seconds left in double overtime.
West Florida will visit Delta State on February 4 and Mississippi College on February 6, with the DSU game set to start at 7:30 p.m.
For information on all UWF athletics, visit
www.GoArgos.com.
