HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – University of West Florida men's basketball (18-3, 10-3 GSC) dropped a heartbreaker in Huntsville Saturday, falling to the UAH Chargers (13-8, 6-7 GSC) 91-90. Moter Deng led the Argos with 24 points (9-15 FG, 4-9 3-PT FG, 2-3 FT) and five rebounds. Rashaan Benson (7-11 FG, 3-4 3-PT FG) finished with 17 points and five assists.
The Argos led 50-33 at half. A furious Chargers comeback in the second helped the home team run its win streak in Huntsville vs. UWF to ten straight games.
"Give Huntsville credit. They made shots in the second half," said UWF head coach Jeff Burkhamer. "It's my fault we stayed in the zone too long. We weren't near as active in the zone in the second half as we were in the first half. It's my fault that our execution offensively was not very good."
The Argos offense slipped in the second but enjoyed one of its most efficient and entertaining performances all season for most of the first half, shooting 20 of 28 from the field (.714) and 7 of 13 (.538) beyond the arc. Darryl Tucker led the way with 10 points, while Bryan Chalifoux, DJ Thorpe, and Deng each scored 9 points. The Argos held the UAH attack to .440 shooting from the field to build a 50-33 halftime lead.
Burkhamer noted the importance of four quick points UAH scored at the end of the first to trim the UWF lead, perhaps swinging a piece of the momentum.
"Instead of having a 21-point lead, we had a 17-point lead. They're a team that can score quickly," said Burkhamer. "Getting a technical foul, giving them those two points, in a one-possession game, that kind of stuff comes back to haunt you."
UAH roared back out of the gate in the second, beginning the period on a 22-6 tear to cut the Argo lead to 56-50 with just under 10 minutes to play. With 7:00 to play, UAH built the lead all the way to 76-68. Late game heroics from Deng and Benson, who scored 13 second half points, helped the Argos to fight back. The duo, plus Henri Ventoniemi, Chalifoux, and Tucker, all hit key shots down the stretch. A layup from Tucker evened the game inside of two minutes. A Benson three off a wild ricochet sequence with nine seconds left gave the Argos a 90-89 lead.
"Very frustrating, very disappointing. There's a lot of points where even with all the craziness of the second half, we still had the game won and gave it away," Burkhamer said.
On a call with two seconds to play, UAH's Kip Owens was awarded two free throws following a dunk attempt. Owens received a pass at the top of the arc and drove through the Argo defense. Marvin Jones challenged him at the rim and was assessed the foul.
"There's no way a five-man should be in front of us running down the floor," Burkhamer said of his team's defense on the decisive sequence of the game. "Just really, really a poor job of finishing the game. That's my fault."
Tucker notched 12 total points on 6 of 6 shooting from the field. Chalifoux knocked down 4 of 6 three-point attempts in the game to finish with 12 points. Thorpe finished with 11 points and 3 steals, which equaled him with Marcus Grant for the most steals in a single season by an Argo men's basketball player (62).
The Argos shot 16 of 24 (.471) from the field in the second half vs. 18 of 28 (.643) for the Chargers. UAH hit 12 of 16 three-pointers in the game's second 20 minutes. The Chargers were led by Chayse Elliott, who scored 28 points (8-13 FG, 6-8 3-PT FG) in 20 minutes of work in the second. He finished with 41 points for the game. The loss was the third the Argos have suffered this season by one possession, and the second they have suffered that has been decided by one point.
The Argos will return home Feb. 1 for a 7:30 p.m. contest vs. Lee and remain at home for a Feb. 3 contest vs. Shorter.
"We've just got to move forward. Nothing we can do but try to move forward," Burkhamer said. "We've got to try to win two home games."
For the latest information on the Argos, follow the team on Twitter @UWFMensBBall and at GoArgos.com.
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