ALBANY, Ga. – No. 9/12 UWF men's basketball began the regular season on the right note Friday at the GSC-SIAC Crossover, defeating Fort Valley State 77-56. Six Argos, including all five starters, scored in double figures.
 
"It was good to see our guys play well together. It's good to get a win and especially to get a win on the road," said UWF head coach Jeff Burkhamer. "We had different guys all the way through the game that made some plays in stretches. Really good team win."
 
Rashaan Benson scored 13 of his team-high 17 points in the first half as the Argos built a 41-28 advantage at the break. UWF shot 13-of-29 (.448) from the field and 5-of-14 (.357) from three in the first 20 minutes. Bryan Chalifoux and Jon Brown each scored eight first half points.
 
"I felt like we got off to a great start, and the big reason why was Rashaan Benson," said Burkhamer. "He really played well early and kind of got us going. And then we had some other guys make some shots. They were playing zone, and we had a variety of people score."
 
West Florida held Fort Valley to just 9-of-33 (.273) shooting in the second half from the field to open the game up. UWF recorded 18 assists on 26 made baskets and turned the ball over just seven times.
 
Chalifoux netted 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. Brown finished the game 7-of-8 from the free throw line en route to 13 points and six rebounds. Alasanne Kah scored 11 points. Jarrett Henderson added 10 points and eight rebounds. Maxwell Benoit also registered 10 points. Benson added eight rebounds to his 17 points.
 
The win moved the Argos to 6-3 in season openers since 2010 and 3-1 in season openers under Burkhamer. The win also moved UWF to 3-1 vs. FVSU in the last four seasons. The Argos (1-0) battle host Albany State tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT.
 
"There will be some things we'll talk with our guys about at practice that we've got to get better at, but we did have some really good stretches in this game where we played very well," said Burkhamer. "I think tomorrow night will be an even bigger challenge."
 
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