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PENSACOLA, Fla. – UWF men's basketball (25-3, 17-3 GSC) will host a GSC Tournament opener for the first time in program history tomorrow. The Argos will take on Montevallo (15-14, 10-10 GSC) at 7:00 p.m. in the UWF Field House.
University of West Florida men's basketball previously defeated Montevallo 85-78 in the UWF Field House Dec. 18 behind clutch performances from Darryl Tucker and Rashaan Benson and a huge night from the reserves. The UWF bench outscored the Montevallo bench 52-8 in an explosive performance. The win helped the team finish its pre-Christmas schedule a perfect 11-0. The 11 straight wins matched a program record set by the 1967-68 team.
SEVEN-GAME WIN STREAK
* The Argos downed the No. 8 Valdosta State Blazers (25-3, 18-2 GSC) for the second time this season, scoring a 91-84 win at The Complex in Valdosta Thursday.
* The win was the first vs. a top-10 program in UWF men's basketball history. The Argos are the only GSC team to defeat Valdosta State, the conference's top seed, twice this season. The victory at The Complex snapped a 23-game home win streak for VSU.
* The Argos are undefeated so far in the month of February. The team has won seven straight. UWF is surrendering just 62.7 points per game during the win streak.
UWF REMAINS AT NO. 3 IN SOUTH REGION POLL
* UWF once again checked in at No. 3 in the South Region in the second NCAA Division II regional rankings of the 2017-18 season released Feb. 21.
* West Florida, whose 17 conference wins have reset the single-season high for the program, is ranked behind just one other GSC team. Valdosta State, the top seed in the GSC and No. 8 team in the nation, checked in at No. 2 in the South Region poll. Morehouse, ranked No. 9 in the NABC and No. 13 in the D2SIDA poll, topped the South Region. Clark Atlanta, Barry, Eckerd, Claflin, Florida Southern, Nova Southeastern and West Alabama rounded out the rest of the South Region Top 10.
GSC TOURNAMENT
* Valdosta State is the GSC Tournament's number one seed. UWF checks in at number two. Christian Brothers in the three-seed, Lee the fourth, Delta State the fifth, North Alabama the sixth, Montevallo the seventh and West Georgia the eighth. UWF has suffered just one loss vs. teams in the field this year, a 69-68 heartbreaker at Lee Jan. 4. The Argos are 9-1 vs. the field so far this season.
* This is the 11th GSC Tournament appearance for UWF since 1997-98. 2018 marks the first time that UWF has made back-to-back tournament appearances since 2012-13 and 2013-14.
* Last year, UWF's season came to an end in the first round of the GSC Tournament. The Argos played Christian Brothers in Memphis and were defeated 65-64. Marvin Jones had a big game, scoring 19 points while also grabbing four steals. He made 5 of 7 three-point attempts in the contest.
SCOUTING MONTEVALLO
* The Falcons are 15-14 overall and 10-10 in conference play. Montevallo is 9-5 at home, 5-6 away and 1-3 on neutral floors. The team has lost three of its last four.
* The Falcons are led by Jamaar Taylor, who has averaged 23.9 points per game but has not appeared in a game since Jan. 25. Chris Williams is second on the team with 16.2 points per game. Julio Guity leads the team with 8.9 rebounds per game.
* Williams is currently 12th in the GSC in scoring (16.2 PPG). He is tied for 7th in the conference with 3.9 assists per game. He is 14th in the GSC in FG percentage (.447). Julio Guity is third in the conference in rebounding (8.9 RPG).
* The Argos are 2-13 vs. Montevallo since 2006 and 2-3 at home in the same span. UWF's lone win vs. the Falcons prior to this season came Feb. 19, 2009 (67-64). The Dec. 18 meeting the first game between the programs since 2013 and the first since Montevallo joined the Gulf South Conference.
GSC AND NATIONAL LEADERS
* Darryl Tucker leads the conference in rebounding (9.5 RPG) and FG percentage (.644). He is tied for third in the conference in blocks per game (1.4). He is 13th (16.1 PPG) in the GSC in scoring.
* DJ Thorpe leads the conference in steals (2.7 per game).
* Rashaan Benson is second in the GSC in assists (5.5 per game) and tied for second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5). He is 13th in the conference at 33.8 minutes per game.
* The Argos lead the conference in scoring margin per game at +12.0. UWF also leads the conference in steals per game at 8.75.
* West Florida is holding opponents to 67.5 points per game, the second-lowest number in the conference. The Argos are third in the conference in field goal percentage (.482). UWF is holding opponents to a .420 FG percentage, the third-lowest number in the conference. UWF is second in the GSC in offensive rebounding at 12.6 per game.
* The Argos are tied for 10th nationally with an .893 win percentage. The Argos rank 37th nationally in offensive rebounding, 41st nationally in opponent field goal percentage, 17th in scoring margin, 17th in steals per game, 18th in total steals (245), and 20th in turnover margin.
* Tucker ranks eighth nationally in field goal percentage, 27th nationally in total rebounds (267) and 36th nationally in rebounds per game (9.5 rebounds per game).
* Thorpe ranks fourth nationally in total steals at 76. He is fifth nationally at 2.71 steals per game.
* Benson is 33rd nationally with 5.5 assists per game. He is 29th in total steals at 153.
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