PENSACOLA, Fla. – University of West Florida men's basketball (19-3, 11-3 GSC) got back on track with an 82-74 win over the Lee Flames (12-9, 7-7 GSC) Thursday in the UWF Field House. Darryl Tucker turned in a historic performance, scoring a career-best 33 points (11-14 FG, 1-1 3-PT FG, 10-15 FT) while pulling down 17 rebounds in 29 minutes of work. Henri Ventoniemi added 15 points (5-9 FG, 5-5 FT) in 18 minutes.
"It was a battle. Hand-to-hand combat is what I would call that in the GSC," said UWF head coach Jeff Burkhamer. "That's just how [the Flames] play. We combated it pretty good. They're a hard team to play against. They really run their stuff well. And they played very, very hard. I was proud of our guys that we played through some stretches. We found a way to make enough plays, and we were able to close out the game against a very tough team."
The contest proved to be a defensive battle early. The No. 20 Argos and Flames combined for just 30 points in the game's first 10:37. Tucker scored 12 of the team's last 14 points in the first to build a narrow 33-32 lead at half.
"I was just was doing what the coach told me. He told me keep attacking every time I get the ball," said Tucker. "They did a good job in front of me, but we adapted."
Tucker led all scorers with 15 points (5-8 FG, 1-1 3-PT FG, 4-8 FT) in the first half. He also grabbed nine rebounds, four of them on the offensive glass. Marvin Jones added five points, two assists, one block and one steal. Ventoniemi finished the first with four points and one block.
UWF shot 11 of 29 (.379) from the field in the opening half. The Argos knocked down 3 of 10 (.300) three-point attempts and 8 of 14 (.571) free throws. The Argo defense registered four steals and four blocks while winning the turnover battle 7-4. West Florida held Lee to 10 of 23 shooting overall in the first, but the Flames did hit 3 of 5 (.600) three-point attempts.
The contest remained tight early in the second. A three by Lee's Michael McGuirk equaled the contest at 49-49 with 13:34 to play. Back-to-back triples by DJ Thorpe and Bryan Chalifoux quickly helped UWF reclaim the lead.
After a three by Colton Blevins trimmed the Argo lead to 61-58, DJ Thorpe capitalized for a four-point lead that built the UWF advantage to seven with just over eight to play. Lee drew back within five before Tucker took over again. The senior scored 10 of the Argos' final 13 points in the game's final 4:46 and sealed the contest with his first and only block of the evening in the game's waning moments. His 33 total points were the most by any UWF men's basketball player this year.
"He's got to be our go-to guy, and I thought late, he was very aggressive finding ways to finish plays," said Burkhamer of Tucker's performance to close the contest. "He made a couple of plays out of the short corner on drives that were terrific. I thought he had a very good game. He was very active. When he's active, running and jumping and really working, he's really good. He's one of the best post players in the league."
West Florida shot the ball much better in the second, going 14 of 23 (.609) to finish the contest a respectable 25 of 52 (.481). The Argos made 18 of 23 (.783) foul shots and outrebounded the Flames 15-11 in the second.
Ventoniemi's 15 points were a season-high. Thorpe scored 12 points and three assists, two rebounds and one steal. With the steal, he reset the single-season record for most steals in a season in program history (63). Jones posted seven total points and also added four assists. Moter Deng scored seven points and Bryan Chalifoux finished with six. Lee was led by Blevins, who scored 18 points.
Tucker's 33 points are tied for the eighth-most in a single game by an Argo in program history. He is the first Argo to score 30 in a game since Austin Somerfield accomplished the feat Jan. 30, 2016. Tucker has shot 27 of 30 (.900) from the field in the last three games.
UWF returns to action Saturday at home vs. Shorter (3-11, 3-19 GSC). Tip vs. the Hawks is slated for 4:00 p.m.
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