Box Score

PENSACOLA, Fla.- Brett Carter Jr. scored a season-high 18 points on 4-5 shooting from beyond the arc while Wendell Matthews added 17 points as the UWF Men's Basketball Team used a balanced attack to defeat Shorter, 88-71, on Saturday afternoon at the UWF Field House.

The win improves West Florida to 4-6 on the season while Shorter drops to 1-8 with the loss.

Four Argos scored in double-figures on the afternoon, including Tarik Mckelphin and Daniel Sofield who had 12 and 15 points, respectively, to go along with Carter Jr. and Matthews totaling 18 and 17.  Mckelphin had another balanced stat sheet with eight rebounds and tying Matthews for a team-high two blocks.  Mckelphin and fellow senior guard Cameron Cox, tied for a team-high four assists.  The hosts shot 43 percent from the field for the game while holding the visitors to just 38 percent.

"I thought we played really well to start the game with Wendell (Matthews), Daniel (Sofield) and Brett (Carter Jr.), getting us off to a great start and carrying us in the first half", said UWF Head Coach Jeff Burkhamer.

Game two of the back-to-back started similarly as the first game with UWF scoring the first 14 points of the contest.  SU would claw their way back into the game, cutting the deficit to nine on a Jay Shropshire field goal with 13:17 remaining in the first period, but UWF would quickly respond with a 9-2 run, capped by a Carter Jr. three-pointer, to put the lead back up to 15.  

The Hawks would once again make it a close game after Ja'Cori Wilson made it a five-point game with 7:13 remaining in the first, but West Florida would collect themselves as the home team went on a 27-12 run for the rest of the half, putting the contest at 53-33 after one period.  The Argonauts shot 52 percent from the field in the first half and 47 percent from downtown with Carter Jr. connecting on four treys by himself.  The 18 points from Carter Jr. were the most since he scored 21 against Shorter on February 8th, 2020.

UWF opened the final period on a 15-2 run, with Conor Flanagan scoring six of his eight total points during the five-minute stretch.  The Argos would eventually build their second-half lead to 79-42, on two free-throws from Freshman Kendall Bynum.  Shorter would go on a 17-0 run to cut the lead 81-65 with 3:48 remaining on a lay-up by Charles Botchway, before both teams would trade baskets and end with the 88-71 score.  Botchway and Wilson led all Hawks players with 13 points each, while Botchway tallied a game-high nine assists.

The Argos lost the rebounding battle, 44-41, despite Cox's team-high nine rebounds.  West Florida also had quick hands on the defensive end, swiping eight steals as Sofield grabbed four on his own.  UWF also took advantage of a season-high 39 free-throw attempts, connecting on 30 of them.

"We had great energy today after a great game yesterday, and our execution was spot on as well and we are hoping to carry that into next weekend", Burkhamer stated.

West Florida will return to action next Friday and Saturday at West Georgia.  Tip-off from Carrollton is set for 6 p.m. ET on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.

For the latest information on the UWF Men's Basketball Team, please visit GoArgos.com or follow the team on Twitter @UWFMensBBall.