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VALDOSTA, Ga. – The UWF men's basketball team trailed by as many as 23 points near the midway point of the second half before mounting a furious rally that ended up falling just short to league-leader Valdosta State, 89-82 at The Complex Monday night.
 
UWF (11-6, 6-6 Gulf South) was led offensively by Marvin Jones who had four 3-pointers as part of his 16-point effort. He also keyed the defense with five of the team's 12 steals. DJ Thorpe had 13 off the bench with 11 during a 9-minute stretch late in the second half when the Argonauts were making their comeback.
 
UWF shot 46 percent but committed 17 turnovers that Valdosta converted into 24 points.
 
Valdosta State (15-3, 10-2) won its seventh-consecutive game and got 27 points and four steals from Jeremiah Hill. He made four of the Blazers' eight shots from outside. VSU also had trouble taking care of the basketball, totaling 19 turnovers that led to 13 UWF scores.
 
The Blazers got two 3-pointers to close the first half on a 6-0 run for a 44-32 lead. They stretched the edge to 20 points two minutes into the second half with two more triples and eventually grabbed a 66-43 lead with 13 minutes remaining.
 
But UWF slowly chipped away, whittling the deficit to 15 over the next five minutes. Then the big run came as the Argos scored nine unanswered as part of a larger 14-0 stretch to get within five, 78-73 with 4:12 on the clock.
 
A Blazer bucket briefly halted the Argos' momentum before back-to-back threes from Josh Laatsch and Jones cut it to an 80-79 score with 2:20 left. Hill made two free throws and then the Argonauts came away empty on their next three possessions, which led to seven free throws for the home squad, putting the game out of reach at 89-82 with 16 seconds in the contest.
 
UWF returns home on Thursday when it plays host to West Alabama (6-12, 3-8) on Blizzard Bash/Blue Out Night. The men's game will follow the 5:30 p.m. women's contest at the UWF Field House.