Box Score SAINT LEO, Fla. – No. 9/12 UWF men's basketball suffered its first loss of the season Friday at the Saint Leo Crossover Classic. The Argonauts fell to the Tampa Spartans 81-63 at the Marion Bowman Activities Center in Saint Leo despite double-figure scoring efforts from Rashaan Benson, Jon Brown, and Alassane Kah.
 
"I think Tampa played really well. They shot the ball well early, and they just played better, harder and more physical than we did," said Burkhamer. "It was a disappointing loss… but we've got to understand that it's one game and we've got to come back and play again tomorrow."
 
Benson netted a team-best 19 points. Brown added 14 to go along with four rebounds, two blocks, two steals and two assists. Alassane Kah chipped in 10 points while also grabbing six rebounds. Each of the three scorers in double figures for the Argos reset his season-high scoring output.
 
Benson added a pair of assists to his 19 points. He now stands at 408 assists in his UWF career, just three from matching the all-time record by Deondre Boynton.
 
The teams played evenly through the first stretch of the opening half before a 15-2 run by Tampa over a span of less than four minutes midway through the period turned a 15-14 Argonaut lead into a 29-17 deficit. Tampa had four players in double figures, including Anthony Gamble, who led all scorers with 22 points.
 
UWF went 5-of-10 (.500) beyond the arc in the first half, but Tampa proved as efficient and more willing to pull up from deep early. The Spartans went 7-of-15 (.467) in the first and 9-of-24 (.375) from three overall. Freddy Ibrahim and Gamble combined for seven three-pointers in the game.
 
"They made some tough shots, but we also gave them some open shots where we didn't communicate well. Our communication whether we're man or zone has to be better," said Burkhamer. "We've got to understand the scout better. And we've got to make it tough to make shots. We've got to make them miss instead of hoping they miss."
 
Henri Ventoniemi and Maxwell Benoit each scored seven points. UWF forced 14 Tampa turnovers while committing 12. The Spartans won the points-off-turnovers battle 16-15. Tampa outrebounded the Argonauts 38-23.
 
Brown, a redshirt freshman transfer from North Alabama, has now scored in double figures in two of the first three games of his Argonaut career.
 
UWF (2-1) will next take on host Saint Leo (0-2) tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT.
 
"I think it will be a very difficult game," said Burkhamer. "They're a team that throws a lot of different things at you that we didn't see tonight. It's a quick turnaround, and we know it's going to be a battle again. Hopefully the guys will come ready to play."
 
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