BOX SCORE

ROME, Ga. – The UWF men's basketball team matched its season win total of the past three seasons in just its 11^th game of the season with a thrilling 93-89 overtime victory at Shorter on Saturday.
 
"It's great to reach last year's win total. It was an important conference win on the road and I think it was a real confidence builder for us to win an overtime game. We needed to win a close game like that, and especially to do it on the road and in the league is really big for our team,"
head coach Jeff Burkhamer described.
 
The big man duo of Deangelo Legrier and Austin Somerfield picked apart the Hawks' interior defense with 26 and 24 points, respectively. 54 of the Argonauts' 93 points came inside the paint, with Legrier getting high-percentage looks in a 9-for-10 shooting performance. The Argonauts shot 50% for the contest, giving the squad its second best connection rate of the season.
 
"We came in well prepared," stated Legrier. "Austin (Somerfield) did a good job of finding me on the double team, and vice versa. We fought hard on the glass tonight and it was a complete team effort."
 
West Florida outrebounded Shorter 42-38 with Legrier recording a team-high nine rebounds. Legrier's point total of 26 is most by any Argonaut this season.
 
Perhaps the biggest key to the Argonauts victory was containing the nation's leading scorer, Phil Taylor, to a 6-for-22 shooting performance. Taylor's 27.3% field goal percentage on Saturday was far and away his worst of the season, and his point total of 24 is his second lowest showing of the 2016-17 season.
 
"I think our length bothered him (Taylor) and we made sure he did not get good looks or opportunities to get to the basket. He does a great job of getting to the free throw line. We did a good job of just limiting his opportunities," Burkhamer said.
 
Shorter (8-3, 3-3 GSC) led by as many as 12 in the second half, but a 9-0 run from 15:45 to 14:08 in the second half made it a one-possession ballgame at 56-54. The Hawks were able to maintain a small lead for the next 12:57 until Legrier made a run to basket and received a Marvin Jones pass for an easy layup to tie the game at 82-82.
 
Rashaan Benson missed a layup with five seconds remaining and on the ensuing last-second Shorter possession, Taylor missed a long-distance buzzer beater attempt to send UWF to its third overtime contest of the year.
 
West Florida (7-4, 2-4 GSC) posted one field goal in overtime, but an 8-for-10 showing at the line allowed UWF to hold on for the win. Jason Laatsch's 4-for-4 performance at the charity stripe and a Benson three-pointer set the tone for UWF in the overtime period.
 
"We had guys make some big shots," explained Burkhamer. "Rashaan (Benson) makes a big three, Jason (Laastch) makes his free throws. We had a lot of guys doing a lot of good things today."
 
Benson and DJ Thorpe posted double-digit point totals with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Benson led the Argonauts with four assists, while Thorpe contributed on the defensive side of the ball with a block and a pair of steals.
 
With 17 games remaining on the schedule and having already matched last season's win total, the Argonauts now can have a sigh of relief that improvements are being made on the floor. West Florida eclipsed last year's road win total of two with Saturday afternoon's victory.
 
"It feels good (to reach last year's win total). Now our results are showing up and hopefully we keep this up and do what we are supposed to do the rest of the way," Legrier said.
 
West Florida rests up tomorrow and gets back into action on Monday evening at 6:00 p.m. ET against Lee.
 
For information on all UWF athletics, visit GoArgos.com.