PENSACOLA, Fla.- For the first time since February 2018 the University of West Florida Men's Basketball team defeated the Valdosta State Blazers. The Argos won 99-97 in overtime in front of a packed crowd in the UWF Field House. UWF is now 12-3 on the season and 6-2 in Gulf South Conference action.
 
Coach Burkhamer secured his 100^th win at the University of West Florida at the helm of the program.
 
"There's probably two or three things that make this a big win," Said Head Coach Jeff Burkhamer. "One, is their tradition. They've been very good and they've been at the top of the league and they've been one of the best teams in the last few years. So, to get a win is huge. But it's also big because it's a home game and we have to take care of ourselves at home. We're coming off a game where we just didn't play well and we wanted to come back and really compete. I thought we did compete, we didn't always play great at times but we did compete."
 
The game was a battle of the fast and furious from beginning to end. During the first half the game saw 14 lead changes. West Florida was 20-35 from the field on 57.1 percent shooting. LaTrell Tate led the Argos at the half with 10 points, followed by Wendell Matthews and David-Petit Homme with eight apiece. West Florida outrebounded Valdosta 16-13.
 
With both teams playing up-tempo, Valdosta State was able to take advantage of the momentum in transition. The Blazers were 19-31 from the field on 61.3 percent shooting. VSU made five three-pointers during the first half, with two of them coming from Ricky Brown. Valdosta scored 26 points in the paint and went to halftime with a 51-46 lead over the Argos.
 
The second half was much of the same with both teams sprinting up and down the court trading baskets. The West Florida defense was able to slow Valdosta down in the second half, with three consecutive blocks. From the field UWF was 15-31 on 48.4 percent shooting in the half. By the end of regulation six Argos were already in double figures, with Weatherspoon leading the way 16 points. Jenkins had 14, while Sofield and Matthews had 12 and 11, respectively.
 
Valdosta State came into the second half with the lead but found themselves having to work their way back into the game at times. The Blazers went off to make five additional three-pointers in the second half going 5-10 from beyond the arc for a three-point field goal percentage of 50 percent. With seconds left in the game the score was all tied at 88 apiece. The Blazers had possession in the final seconds of regulation and held the ball up until time expired, Jalcobey Owens attempted to make a last second jumper to win the game for VSU and ultimately sent the game into overtime.
 
Burkhamer continued, "We were down 13 with eight to go and we found a way to win against a quality team and that says something. You're coming off two losses and you want to find a way to break that streak. We've got three games at home so it was good to win this one so we can get to next week."
 
The Argos went into overtime for the second time this season and second consecutive home game. With both teams coming into overtime with a sense of urgency the Argos acted fast putting themselves ahead of the Blazers. Overtime much like the first and second half of the game was a back and forth battle. With Valdosta down two Sofield missed a jumper in the paint and fouled Cam Hamilton on the rebound.
 
Hamilton then went to the free throw line to shoot two, making both of them and tying the game at 97. In the Argos final possession of the game Wendell Matthews found a way to score in the paint pushing the Argos to 99. With 5.5 seconds left to go the Blazers rushed back down the court where Owens would attempt to make one more shot for his team but came up short.
 
Overall West Florida was 40-70 from the field on 53.3 percent shooting. As a team the Argos made eight three-pointers. Tate came off the bench for the Argos and finished the game as the team's leading scorer with 21 points. Six Argos scored in double figures. Weatherspoon had 16, while Jenkins and Sofield each had 14. Matthews added in 13 to the Argos win and Petit-Homme rounded out the double figure scoring with 10 points and a team high 14 rebounds.
 
Up next the UWF Men's Basketball team will face Mississippi College on Thursday, Jan. 13 at 7:30 P.M., in the UWF Field House.
 
How to follow the Argos: For complete information on UWF Men's Basketball follow the team on Instagram @UWFMBB and Twitter @UWFMENSBBALL.