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PENSACOLA, Fla. – Faced with a 50-38 halftime deficit against West Georgia, UWF men's basketball head coach Jeff Burkhamer left the men's basketball squad to talk amongst themselves during the break.
 
With that alone time, UWF responded in one of the most stunning ways imaginable.
 
At the 12:13 mark of the second half, West Florida faced a 13-point, 66-53 hole. Over the next 7:24, UWF flipped that shortcoming against the defending Gulf South Conference champions into a 14-point lead.
 
UWF (9-5, 4-5 GSC) posted a 27-0 run where the team went 11-for-15 from the floor and had six different players register points.
 
The Argonaut defense, which was battered during the first half with UWG shooting 65.5%, forced the Wolves to go 0-for-9 from the floor to go along with five turnovers during the stretch.
 
UWF owned an 80-66 lead and maintained at minimum a six-point lead for the remainder of the contest. The Argonauts eventually came away with a 97-89 victory to earn its fourth win in its last five contests.
 
"In the second half our effort was way better. We started getting some deflections and our defense then created some offense for us. And that kind of got us excited," said Burkhamer. "Jason (Laatsch) hits the big 3 at the top of the key that was probably the shot that really set it in motion to get that 27-0 run."
 
Heading into the second half, it was a newly implemented defensive strategy for the Argonauts that kick started the rally against a fast-paced West Georgia team.
 
The Argonauts pressed closely in the first half, but in the second half adjusted towards playing back while keeping an eye on West Georgia's shooting threats.
 
"We came in as a group without coach in the locker room and talked among ourselves, and came to the conclusion that we just had to get back on defense," said junior Marvin Jones.
 
The coaching staff concurred, and was pleased with the adjustments the team made in the final 20 minutes.
 
"We did a much better job defending the second half, and a much better job of just playing hard," said Burkhamer. "Our defense picked up and helped our offense. We decided that our effort needed to be better, and next thing you know, they miss some shots and get some that makes it a big run."
 
The second half featured numerous statistical improvements in comparison to the first half, including field goal percentage (52.6% to 36.1%), points (59-38), points allowed (39-50), opponent field goal percentage (41.9% to 65.5%), total rebounds (25-14),  total assists (11-7) and turnovers committed (2-7).
 
Jones, who dropped a career-high 26 points against the Wolves, led West Florida in scoring. His 26 points ties the highest single-game total for any Argonaut this season.
 
Austin Somerfield contributed 23 points, including a game-high 15 in the second half. Jason Laatsch set a new season-high with 19 points on a 5-for-11 shooting performance.
 
West Georgia (7-8, 4-5 GSC) had four players in double figures, led by Shannon Fowler who had a team-high 22 points and 16 rebounds.
 
UWF recorded 17 second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds. In comparison, West Georgia tallied  only two second-chance points and grabbed just six offensive boards.
 
The Argos went 11-for-21 from long distance for a season-best 52.4% connection rate from three-point range.
 
West Florida has now won four of its last five games all against GSC opponents. The last time UWF has won four conference games in a five-game span happened towards the tail end of the 2012-13 season.
 
UWF also beat UWG for the first time since Feb. 22, 2014, snapping a four-game skid when playing the Wolves. UWF is now just a single GSC win shy of last season's victory total of five.
 
"I'm really proud of our guys. We've won four out of five now, and we've battled hard on the road. We're getting better, we just have to continue to improve and continue to believe, and hopefully we can take the next step this week with a couple of home games," said Burkhamer.
 
West Florida will host Mississippi College on Thursday night following the conclusion of the UWF-MC women's contest.
 
For information on all UWF athletics, visit GoArgos.com.