PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida used a season-high scoring output to take a 76-71 win over Tuskegee on Wednesday night in the Field House, with a pair of 20-point efforts from Jon Brown and Conor Flanagan. West Florida's 76 points and .491 shooting percentage were each season-bests.
 
"We had two or three really good practices this week, and we've become a little more aggressive," head coach Jeff Burkhamer said after the win. "It's amazing how much better you play when you're making shots. That's been a problem in the past few games, and tonight we made shots. When we make shots, we're going to be a pretty good team, because our defense has been able to keep us in games."
 
West Florida came out hot, taking a 12-2 lead in the first 3:25 of the game behind 7 points from Flanagan early on. The Argonauts led the entire first half and extended the lead to as much as 12 in the opening 20 minutes, while taking a 9-point lead into halftime.
 
Brown scored 23 in the win and added 10 rebounds in his second double-double of the year, and Flanagan dropped a career-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, with four of those baskets coming from beyond the arc.
 
"The shot was really working for me from behind the arc," Flanagan said. "That's what got us going at the start, and everyone else kept thriving off that. It just helped the whole team."
 
West Florida held the lead early in the second half, but Tuskegee charged back and took a 61-59 lead with 7:15 left in the contest. A layup from Lawrence Williams shortly after would put UWF ahead 64-63, and the Argonauts would not trail again, extending their lead to five by the end of the game.
 
Brown is averaging 20.0 points per game this year, good for third-most in the Gulf South Conference, and he led UWF in scoring for the third consecutive game.
 
UWF will host Spring Hill in Saturday's annual Holiday Game, at 4 pm. Fans are encouraged to wear their best holiday sweater and get a free picture with Santa Claus in the lobby, beginning at 1:30 pm, before the UWF women's basketball game tips off at 2 pm.
 
"We just need to continue to improve," Burkhamer said. "We can't take a breath now and relax. We need to prepare really well again, start the game aggressive and active. Spring Hill is a great game for us being an hour away, it's a good rivalry game. Hopefully some folks come out and watch."
 
Fans can keep up with the team by following @UWFMensBBall on Twitter.