JACKSON, Tenn. – DJ Thorpe tied his career-high with 22 points and No. 15/14 UWF was dominant on defense in the second half of a 75-61 win over Union at Fred DeLay Gymnasium Saturday night.
 
UWF (15-1, 7-1 Gulf South) snapped a four-game losing skid to the Bulldogs in Jackson and won the battle down low, scoring 36 points in the paint while getting to the free throw line 28 times – making 19.
 
Thorpe seemed to be a little bit of everywhere on Saturday, grabbing five steals and eight rebounds to go along with his third 20-point game of his 2-year UWF career. It was the fourth time he has had at least five thefts in a game. He entered averaging 2.9 per game to rank fourth nationally.
 
 "DJ sets the tone for us defensively and that creates offense for us," UWF head coach Jeff Burkhamer said. "He really gave us opportunities to get the lead in both halves and extend the lead."
 
Union went ahead 5-3 before UWF used a 7-0 run to take the lead for good. The Bulldogs got to within one on four occasions before the Argonauts headed into the locker room with a 40-35 lead.
 
In the second half, leading scorer Darryl Tucker made his presence felt, scoring 10 of his 16 points to help UWF expand on its advantage. The Argos had runs of 6-0 – all from Thorpe – to start the half and another larger 8-0 stretch later that saw them claim a 58-42 lead with 10:03 left. Tucker scorer nine-consecutive for the Argos as the lead ballooned to 65-45. The Bulldogs never got closer than 11 the rest of the game.
 
"(Darryl) became a little bit more active and we did a better job of getting him the ball and I thought he finishing the game well – both rebounding and scoring – which helped us close out the game," Burkhamer said.
 
Union (8-8, 2-6) shot 44 percent but just 39 percent with nine baskets in the second half. The Bulldogs had nine turnovers in the final 20 minutes that the Argos converted into 15 points. Charlie Wilson had 18 points, 14 rebounds and four assists to lead the Bulldogs.
 
UWF will return to action on Monday afternoon at Christian Brothers in Memphis. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. tip at Canale Arena. Be sure to follow @GoArgos on twitter and check GoArgos.com for any schedule updates as a result of the winter weather that has hit Western Tennessee this week.