PENSACOLA, Fla. – Daniel Sofield scored eight points in the final four minutes, including the go-ahead 3-pointer to help the UWF men's basketball team defeat Tuskegee, 63-52, at the UWF Field House on Tuesday afternoon.
Sofield finished with a game-high 16 points with four 3-pointers as the Argos snapped a 2-game losing skid and handed Tuskegee its first loss in six games this season.
"You're always excited about winning and never complain about finding a way to win," UWF head coach Jeff Burkhamer said. "I thought we were terrific in the first half but then it was a tale of two halves. We were probably as bad in the second half as we were good in the first half. But we did a good enough job defensively and good enough job on the glass. So to beat a 5-0 team and not play really well in the second half while finding a way to win is still really, really good."
UWF (3-2) shot 38 percent for the game but was extremely efficient in the first half in building a 42-21 lead on 52 percent shooting.
But in the second half, Tuskegee (5-1), which came in with the fifth-ranked defense in the country, clamped down and held the Argos to just two free throws and 0-for-12 from the floor in the first 11 minutes. The Tigers took their first lead since the opening minute of the game when Gregg Boyd capped a 12-0 run for a 48-47 lead with 4:56 left.
That's when Sofield found his rhythm, sparking a 6-0 run with a 3-pointer in the corner. Wendell Matthews got a run-out layup and DeJuan Weatherspoon added a free throw to extend the lead to 53-48 with 2:40 remaining. The free throw came after two offensive rebounds kept the possession with the home team.
The Tigers cut it to 53-50 before Weatherspoon made two more freebies and then LaTrell Tate found Sofield on another kick out for a 3-ball that effectively iced the game for UWF at 58-52. Tate made a free throw and fed Weatherspoon for a fast break dunk before Sofield ended the scoring with a pair from the line.
The Argos outscored the Tigers 16-4 in the final four minutes.
Matthews had 14 points and eight rebounds while he drew 10 fouls with his aggressive play inside. He made 5-of-8 from the floor and was 4-of-7 at the foul line. The Argos went 19-of-27 overall.
Early on, Sano Rutatika provided the offense for UWF, making three shots early and had nine points to stake UWF to a 12-9 lead. The Argos got hot in the final three minutes of the opening period, closing with a 13-0 run, getting 3-pointers from Eli Brown, Sofield and David Petit-Homme to lead 42-21.
TU was led by Martez Jones and Boyd with 14 points each. Leading scorer D'Anthony Pennington was held to four points – 10 under his average.
After the 5-game homestand to open the season, UWF will hit the road for its next three games, beginning this Saturday at Mississippi College.
