CARROLLTON, Ga. – The West Florida men's basketball team saw its 3-game winning streak come to an end in a hard-fought, 78-73, loss to West Georgia at The Coliseum Thursday night.
 
West Florida (6-17, 5-15 Gulf South) is eliminated from contention for a spot in the 8-team GSC Championship tournament.
 
Freshman guard Rashaan Benson had 21 to lead all scorers and junior Austin Somerfield posted his fifth 20-point game of the season with 20 and eight rebounds.
 
UWF shot just 41 percent. The Argonauts made eight 3-pointers and recorded a season-high 14 steals.
 
UWG (17-8, 14-6) had 21 turnovers and managed to shoot just 44 percent. The Wolves outrebounded the Argos 43-30, including grabbing 16 offensive boards that they turned into 14 second chance points.
 
UWF was unable to contain Jovany Austin inside. The big man came off the bench to lead UWG with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He made all eight field goals and was 3-of-3 at the free throw line.
  
UWF fell behind 10-2 in the opening minutes before battling back and taking a 21-19 lead on a Mario Stramaglia 3-pointer with 8:53 to play in the half. The lead traded hands three more times before the break when the Wolves carried a 36-33 edge into the locker rooms.
 
In the second half, UWF was never able to take control of the game. The UWG lead only got above two possessions for 45 seconds and the Argos tied it once and had two chances to take the lead with 3:05 to play but misfired on both occasions. The Wolves closed the game on a 9-6 run.
 
UWF will return to action on Saturday afternoon with a road game at West Alabama (11-15, 7-13) – a team that has dropped six-consecutive and is just 3-8 since a loss to UWF in early January. Tip off at Pruitt Hall in Livingston, Ala., is set for 4:00 p.m. Central time.