PENSACOLA, Fla. – The UWF men's basketball team fought through a brutal scoring slump in the final three minutes before getting a Tarik McKelphin free throw with no time left on the clock to defeat Delta State, 68-67, at the UWF Field House Thursday night.
UWF (6-8, 3-4 Gulf South) shot 42 percent on the game, but won this game at the free throw line where they went 17-for-22.
Jon Brown led the team with 20 points to go with seven rebounds. McKelphin racked up 13 points, seven rebounds and despite only going 3-fo-6 from the free throw line, he sank the game-winning shot after drawing a foul as time expired on a drive to the rim.
Chinedu Okonkwo earned eight rebounds leading the team on the defensive end and Cameron Cox tallied six assists, seven points and seven rebounds creating a great all around game for him tonight.
The second half is where the Argos won the game tonight as they pulled away from the Statesman. Delta State trimmed the UWF lead to 41-39 after Austin Laatsch's three pointer and then another three from Laatsch tied the game 42-42 with 13:46 left in the game. The Argos still led the Statesmen 55-49 going into the 8:00 media timeout.
UWF then extended their lead to double-digits, 63-51 after a three from Daniel Soffield with 5:38 remaining. DSU then cut the UWF lead to 67-60 after yet another three from Laatsch with 2:33 remaining. Delta State's Airen Brooks sank a layup with 23 seconds left which tied the game at 67-67 and right at the end, a free throw from McKelphin gave UWF the 68-67 victory.
DSU (7-7, 3-3) was never out of the game against UWF and the stats show just how close this game was. The Statesman shot 47.2 percent on the game and had an outstanding shot percentage in the first half shooting 54.2 percent. Laatsch set a new career high with 22 points on a 58.3 field goal percentage and had a 54.5 three-point field goal percentage. Brooks recorded a double-double finishing with 20 points and 15 rebounds.
The Argonauts will be back at home on Saturday, Jan. 11 to take on Mississippi College. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. at the UWF Field House following the UWF-MC women's game at 2:00 p.m.
