ALBANY, Ga. – No. 9/12 UWF men's basketball notched another win at the GSC-SIAC Crossover Saturday, downing host Albany State 63-59. UWF has now won nine straight regular season games dating back to last season.
 
"It was a great effort," said UWF head coach Jeff Burkhamer. "I thought we really played hard against a good team, handled their pressure well, didn't have a lot of turnovers, which was a big concern, and really did a great job on the glass in our zone, not allowing them to have second and third shots."
 
Henri Ventoniemi led all scorers with a career-high 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 9-of-12 shooting from the line. The senior post player also added three assists and four rebounds.
 
"Henri Ventoniemi played very, very well," said Burkhamer. "He really scored the ball, rebounded and was a force defensively executing things out of the middle of the floor."
 
Maxwell Benoit led the Argos in scoring during the first half, recording nine points on 2-of-3 shooting beyond the arc and 3-of-4 shooting from the line. UWF shot 10-of-26 (.385) from the field and 3-of-8 (.375) from deep in the first half en route to a 30-27 lead.
 
"Max is a kid that can really shoot the ball and has had two solid games for us," Burkhamer said of Benoit, who was limited in preseason because of injury. "He made a big free throw down the stretch. He's getting better and better."
 
Ventoniemi scored 16 in the second to pace the Argos, who shot the ball at a more efficient 10-of-21 (.476) clip. The UWF defense limited the Golden Rams to 13-of-32 (.406) shooting from the field and 3-of-15 (.200) from the three-point line in the second. The Argo defense forced 14 ASU turnovers in the game. UWF committed just six.
 
The contest stood tied at 41-41 with just over 12 minutes to play before an 11-0 run by UWF opened things up. ASU was able to shrink the lead to 62-59 before late free throws by Benoit and Bryan Chalifoux sealed the win.
 
Benoit finished with 12 points and three rebounds. Rashaan Benson posted nine points and four assists. Jon Brown scored six points while grabbing a team-high 11 boards. The freshman also passed out three assists and grabbed a team-best three steals.
 
"I think we beat a really good team," said Burkhamer. "They're athletic. They really pressure you. And they're a team that's going to win a lot of games in the SIAC. So we're excited to beat them at their place in a hard-fought game."
 
UWF (2-0) will once again hit the road next weekend for another cross-conference challenge at Saint Leo. They will take on Tampa (1-0) Nov. 16 at 4:00 p.m. CT before battling the Lions (0-1) Nov. 17 at 3:30 p.m. CT.

For the latest on UWF men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter @UWFMensBBall.