FAIRFIELD, Ala. – UWF men's basketball (4-0) made it two victories this week vs. Miles College (0-4), overcoming a 39-34 halftime deficit Saturday evening in the Knox-Windham Gymnasium to win 74-58. The Argos were led by DJ Thorpe, who scored a game-high 19 points, and Darryl Tucker, who notched his third straight double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
"It was a good road game for us to try to grow up a little bit, to learn to play through some adversity," said UWF head coach Jeff Burkhamer. "It was a good win in a tough environment."
Miles built a 39-34 lead at half thanks to 18-of-33 shooting (54.5%) from the field. Rashaan Benson and Shondell Jackson each finished the first with seven points, and Tucker snared six rebounds, but the Argos struggled to contain Carl Garcia, who led all scorers in the first with 11 points while also dishing 3 assists and grabbing 2 steals.
The Golden Bears outrebounded the Argos 22-20 in the first. UWF committed six turnovers while forcing eight. UWF shot 10-of-16 from the free throw line. Miles did not attempt a free throw in the first.
The Argos stormed back in the second, outscoring Miles 40-19 to notch an impressive comeback win. The Argos defense, which held Miles to just one field goal over a seven-minute stretch in the second Wednesday in an 84-66 win, once again stifled the Golden Bears in the second Saturday. West Florida held Miles to 7-of-29 shooting from the field (0-10 3-PT FG) in the second half.
The Argos began the second with a 26-8 run that flipped the script of the game. The hot streak was briefly interrupted by a power outage in the gym 2:30 into the half. With the score tied 39-39, the outage paused play for approximately fifteen minutes before the teams were able to resume.
DJ Thorpe scored 13 of his 19 points (6-11 FG, 2-4 3-PT FG, 3-4 FT) in the second. He would also finish the game with six assists.
"He got some things in transition and some things that were to the rim. He did a good job of getting to the basket, and we got him some good looks," Burkhamer said of Thorpe's second half performance.
After a scoreless first half, Moter Deng dropped nine points and grabbed five rebounds in the second to narrowly miss a double-double (9 points/ 9 rebounds). Rashaan Benson netted eight points in the second to finish with 15 for the evening. He also racked up three assists.
The Argos scored 28 points off turnovers vs. 12 for Miles. UWF outpaced Miles 14-6 in fast break points. UWF trailed in the rebounding department 22-20 at half but beat Miles on the glass 25-19 in the second to finish with a 45-41 advantage.
The Argos travel to Spring Hill College Tuesday. Tip in Mobile is slated for 7:30 p.m.
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