PENSACOLA, Fla. – UWF men's basketball (3-0) downed Miles College (0-3) 84-66 in the UWF Field House Wednesday, staying perfect on the young season behind a monster effort from Darryl Tucker, who exploded for 13 points, 5 blocks and 22 rebounds, the second-most in a single game in UWF history. Shondell Jackson led the team in scoring with 16 points, and five Argos finished in double figures. The Argos will meet Miles again in Fairfield, Ala. on Saturday.
"Overall I was proud of our guys," said UWF head coach Jeff Burkhamer. "We played hard. We got a great effort from everybody. All ten guys that dressed tonight played and gave us good minutes. I knew we were going to have to play extremely hard to win, and we were able to find a way."
Moter Deng and DJ Thorpe combined to score 12 of the team's first 19 points in a tight first half. UWF would close the opening period with a 13-3 run that left them with a 42-35 lead at the break. Tucker posted 8 points and 13 rebounds, his season-high for a single half this season. Deng led the team in scoring with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting from the line. UWF was 3-for-6 beyond the arc in the opening half and shot 46.9% from the field vs. 44.8% for the Golden Bears. Sheldon Wright and Jeffrey Dockett each finished with eight points to pace the Golden Bears.
Miles opened the second on a 12-4 run to claim the lead 47-46. Henri Ventoniemi scored the first four points of the second for the Argos. With the score tied at 54-54, Thorpe netted six straight points for UWF to build a 60-54 lead. Miles would chip the lead down to 64-62 before the Argos exploded for a 16-0 run that put the game away. The West Florida defense was particularly impressive in the game's final stages, holding the Golden Bears without a field goal in the contest's final 10:07.
Jackson poured in 16 points (4-7 FG, 3-6 3-PT FG) in 18 minutes to lead the UWF scoring effort. Thorpe finished the contest with 14 points (6-14 FG) while Ventoniemi ended the night with 12 points (4-7 FG). Deng posted 11 points (3-8 FG). Rashaan Benson piled up nine points (3-7 FG) and eight assists. UWF improved to 6-1 in the last two regular seasons when Benson posts at least seven assists.
Tucker registered his second straight double-double this season and the seventh of his UWF career. His 22 rebounds for the night are the second most in West Florida history, trailing only Elbert Jones, who posted 25 rebounds on Nov. 27, 1995 vs. LaGrange. Tucker also became just the third Argonaut since 2009 to accumulate five blocks in a single game.
"He was really consistent in the first two games of the season, and then tonight he just took it to a different level," Burkhamer said of Tucker's performance. "I really liked how he played. I thought he was very aggressive without fouling."
The Argos outrebounded the Golden Bears 49-32. UWF finished the night shooting 45.0% from the field vs. 38.5% for Miles.
The win was the 12th straight at home for UWF, dating back to Jan. 7, 2017 when the Argos downed Shorter 93-89 in overtime.
The Argos hit the road Saturday for a rematch with Miles in Fairfield. Tip-off in the Knox-Windham Gymnasium is slated for 6:00 p.m.
#ARGOS#
