BOX SCORE
PENSACOLA, Fla. – In a contest that featured 14 lead changes and 50 minutes of action, the UWF men's basketball team suffered a heart-breaking 92-89 loss to Valdosta State in its Gulf South Conference opener.
West Florida (5-1, 0-1 GSC) led for 29:05 of a possible 50 minutes, but used multiple late-period runs to extend the contest.
After Valdosta State's (6-1, 1-0 GSC) Beau Justice drained a three pointer to go up 76-72 with 1:35 remaining in regulation, back-to-back buckets from
Rashaan Benson tied the game at 76-76 and forced the game into overtime. Benson's game-tying score came with just 23 seconds remaining and on the ensuing position the sophomore blocked Josh Lemons' potential buzzer beater to solidify the knotted score.
Towards the end of the first overtime period,
Mario Stramaglia handed UWF an 84-82 lead after swishing a three-pointer in the left corner. On the other side of the floor, Valdosta State pushed the game into another overtime period with a pair of successful free throws by Jeremiah Hill.
The second overtime featured another back-and-forth battle, and all five of UWF's second-overtime points came via free throws. With VSU up 90-87,
Jason Laatsch converted on a pair of free throws to cut the Blazers' lead to 90-89.
On the other end, Lemons would swish a pair of his own free throws with four seconds remaining to give Valdosta State a 92-89 lead. After a UWF timeout, Benson's inbound pass intended for Stramaglia was stolen by Lemons and the turnover solidified VSU's conference opening win.
With the setback West Florida sees its winning streak that was tied for the longest to open a season since 1997-1998 come to a close. UWF was one of the 15 teams in NCAA Division II who were undefeated prior to the start of today's contest.
UWF held an eight-point lead at halftime after posting an impressive 53.3% field goal percentage. VSU adjusted to the hot Argonaut offense by limiting UWF to a 38.2% clip in the second half.
The Argos were led by Benson, who recorded team-highs in points, with 22, and assists, with six.
Deangelo Legrier continued his impressive start to the 2016-17 campaign with 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
Darryl Tucker was also a force on the boards, recording a season-high 14. UWF recorded new team season-highs in points (89), blocks (6), assists (21) and rebounds (53).
Hill, who was just an assist shy of a triple double with 24 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists led the Blazers offensively.
The Argonauts make a lengthy road trip to Tennessee this weekend for a contest against Union on Thursday at 8 p.m. and a matchup against Christian Brothers on Saturday at 3 p.m.
For information on all UWF athletics, visit GoArgos.com.
