VALDOSTA, Ga. – A slow start turned out to be too much to overcome for the University of West Florida men's basketball program in the team's season-opener against Albany State, as a part of the GSC-SIAC Crossover. The Argonauts fell to the Golden Rams 73-59, despite an impressive second-half effort.
 
West Florida got behind the 8-ball early, as Albany State jumped out to a quick 16-2 lead in the first seven minutes of play. The Argonauts were plagued by turnovers during that stretch, committing seven while ASU shot 7-of-14 from the field.
 
In the final 33 minutes of action, however, West Florida tied ASU 57-57 and outperformed the Golden Rams in nearly every category. Following the opening run, UWF shot 48 percent (21-43) with 14 turnovers compared to Albany State's 43% shooting (20-47) and 16 turnovers.
 
UWF's leading scorers for the game were newcomer Ke'Sean Robinson (14 points), Chinedu Okonkwo (12 points), and Conor Flanagan (10 points), who each played their first games for the blue and green.
 
Okonkwo led UWF with eight points in the second half, when West Florida outscored Albany State 37-33. Robinson scored seven and led the Argos with four rebounds in the final 20 minutes. Overall, UWF shot 50 percent from the floor and held ASU to 2-of-13 from beyond the arc in the second half.
 
West Florida cut into the lead in the second half, trimming the deficit to as few as 10 with 9:31 left in the game. In an eight-minute stretch in the middle of the second, UWF shot 7-11 while forcing five ASU turnovers to cut the score to 55-45. Albany State was able to outlast the Argonauts over the final eight minutes, never surrendering the lead despite a strong second-half performance from West Florida.  
 
Freshman Daniel Sofield led UWF with five assists and scored six points, and fellow newcomer Lawrence Williams also scored six points.
 
UWF is back to action in the GSC-SIAC Crossover on Saturday at 6 pm ET against Fort Valley State, in Valdosta, Georgia. Fans can keep up with the team by following @UWFMensBBall on Twitter.