BOX SCORE

ATLANTA, Ga. – Newcomers, Xavier Washington and Le'Tarion White, combined for 23 points but it was not enough as the UWF Men's Basketball team dropped their season opener, 74-57, at Clark Atlanta on Friday night inside Epps Gymnasium.
 
West Florida drops to 0-1 on the young season and will turn around to play Fort Valley State at 2 PM ET / 1 PM CT to conclude the GSC-SIAC Crossover.  The Wildcats fell to Valdosta State earlier on Friday afternoon.
 
Washington, a native of Palmetto, Florida went for 12 points on three of five shooting to go along with four rebounds and two steals, while White notched 11 points on a team-high five made field goals.  Myles Ruth and Channick Nkoma tallied eight points apiece.
 
"We got beat by a good team in a tough environment", said UWF Head Coach Jeff Burkhamer.  "We settled down and had some good moments in the second half.  We need to build on these moments.  Xavier Washington and Le'Tarion White gave us some good minutes."
 
After the Argonauts scored seven of the game's first 10 points, CAU went on a 20-4 run over a five-minute stretch to build a 23-11 lead midway through the first half.  The Panthers would extend their lead to 40-21 through the first 20 minutes of the first half.
 
UWF battled back quickly in the second half, shrinking the 19-point deficit to single digits on a Le'Tarion White steal and an ensuing dunk at the 16:03 mark.  West Florida would continue to hover around the 10-14 point range for most of the second half which included a lay-up by Sano Rutatika at the 8:18 mark to make the deficit only 11.
 
CAU would be too much however, down the stretch as the Panthers finished the game on a 17-11 run, buoyed by guard Chris Martin.  The graduate student from Charlotte, North Carolina poured in a game-high 41 points on 50 percent shooting.  Martin also knocked in 21 free throw attempts.
 
"We certainly did not have an answer for (Chris) Martin", continued Burkhamer.  "He was terrific."
 
As a team, West Florida shot 42 percent from the field, buoyed by a 50 percent mark in the second half. The Argonauts also got 27 points from their bench.
 
For the latest on the UWF Men's Basketball Team, please visit GoArgos.com or follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @UWFMensBBall.