PENSACOLA, Fla. – University of West Florida men's basketball (11-0, 3-0 GSC) defeated Montevallo (6-7, 1-3 GSC) 85-78 in the UWF Field House Monday night behind clutch performances from Darryl Tucker and Rashaan Benson and a huge night from the reserves. The UWF bench outscored the Montevallo bench 52-8 in an explosive performance. The win helps the team finish its pre-Christmas schedule a perfect 11-0. The 11 straight wins match a program record set by the 1967-68 team. 

"To get to 11-0 is a great tribute to our guys, 3-0 in the league against three good conference opponents. That's our 16th straight home win, which is a really neat thing for our players," said UWF head coach Jeff Burkhamer. "Hopefully we're establishing a home court advantage."

DJ Thorpe scored five of the Argos' first eight points. Five straight points by Benson followed to put UWF up 13-9. Montevallo roared back to take a 15-13 lead before back-to-back Bryan Chalifoux threes regained West Florida the lead.

UWF hit six of its first seven three-point attempts in the first half. 18 of the team's first 22 points came from beyond the arc.

"Each night we have new people stepping up," said Chalifoux. "I think it's a bunch of people that are making plays, and I think that really helps us because it's tough for other teams to scout us and guard us."

Bryan Chalifoux enjoyed the best half of his 2017-18 season, knocking down all four of his three-point attempts on his way to 14 points to pace the Argos. Rashaan Benson made all three of his three-point attempts in the half,  notching 11 points. West Florida shot 9-of-13 from beyond the arc in the first, and shot 14-of-26 from the field overall in building a lead of 41-32 at half.

Montevallo began the second half on an 18-9 run, evening the score at 50-50 before briefly taking a lead. An 11-5 run would put the Argos in front 69-63. UWF held a 76-73 lead with 1:46 to go. The team finished the game on a 9-5 run to secure the 85-78 win. The team hit 7 of its last 8 free throws to ice the game. Benson scored six of the team's final eight points.

Benson finished with 17 points (5-8 FG, 3-4 3-PT FG, 4-4 FT) to go along with seven assists. Tucker finished with 19 points (6-10 FG, 7-13 FG) to pace the team. He also grabbed 17 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass, to finish with his second straight double-double and his sixth overall this season.

"It's a great team to have," Tucker said of the team's perfect first semester start. "It's a brotherhood, and I think our team is going to do big things."

Chalifoux finished with a season-high 14 points, and, in his first game of the 2017-18 season, Marvin Jones scored 12 points, dished three assists, and two rebounds. Moter Deng registered five assists and three rebounds.

UWF shot a season-best .558 from the field and a season-best .550 from beyond the arc. The UWF defense limited Montevallo to a .313 mark beyond the arc and .463 shooting from the field. The Falcons were led by Jamaar Taylor, who had 36 points (13-21 FG, 3-6 3-PT FG, 7-8 FT).

"It's a good challenge," said Burkhamer of the post-break schedule. "Guys have to come back ready to go because the schedule is very difficult. We come back with a lot of games in a very short period."

The team will return to action on the road at Shorter Jan. 2. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT.