CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The UWF men's basketball team came up just short against Gulf South Conference foe Lee on Monday night, as
DJ Thorpe's long distance buzzer beater attempt caromed off the rim as time expired to solidify a 66-64 win for the Flames.
Darryl Tucker served as the catalyst for the Argonauts both offensively and on the glass, contributing 14 points while collecting nine rebounds.
West Florida (7-5, 2-5 GSC) competed hard with the Flames (7-6, 3-4 GSC) despite a cold shooting night. UWF and Lee went into halftime tied at 30-30 regardless of a 27.6 field goal percentage and a 1-for-10-connection rate from three-point range. The Argos turned 11 Lee fouls into 13 points with UWF converting at a strong 92.9% (13-of-14) clip from the charity stripe.
Jervon Johnson, who turned in a game-high 23 points, led the Flames offensively. Keevin Tyus posted the game's only double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
UWF posted a stronger shooting performance in the second half, shooting 35.5% from the floor and 33.3% from three. However after the first half's strong showing from the free-throw line, UWF went just 7-for-13 from the line in the second half.
The Argonauts trailed by four with 22 seconds remaining in the contest, but a
Jason Laatsch trey made it just a one-point ballgame at 65-64. UWF then immediately fouled Parker Suedekum, who swished 1-of-2 from the line. UWF had a chance to pull off a thrilling victory, but Thorpe's three-point, 25-plus foot attempt from the left side of the court was off the mark as time expired.
The setback for UWF is its third loss this season by a margin of three points or less. West Florida outscored Lee in the paint, 18-14, while converting 17 second-chance points in comparison to Lee's 14. UWF's bench also outscored the Flames, 23-7.
Laatsch and
Marvin Jones posted double-digit point totals with 12 and 10 points, respectively. It is Jones' fourth 10-plus point performance in his last five games after having just one double-digit performance prior to his current run.
West Florida will visit West Alabama on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before returning home on Saturday to play West Georgia at 4 p.m.
For information on all UWF athletics, visit GoArgos.com.
