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PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida men's basketball team will travel to the state of Alabama this weekend to face West Alabama and Alabama Huntsville.  Tip-off against UWA is set for 7:30 pm on Thursday while the game against the Chargers will be at 4 pm on Saturday afternoon.

UWF (4-9, 2-7 in the Gulf South Conference), currently ranked 12^th in the league standings, is coming off a 83-71 victory in its last contest over Montevallo.  Tautvydas Kupstas led the team with 16 points, while Channick Nkoma and Xavier Washington each chipped in 12 points in the winning effort.
 
In the 2023-24 campaign, West Florida is averaging 73.6 points per game on 43 percent shooting while they are allowing opponents to post 77.1 points per contest on 45 percent shooting from the field.  The Argonauts are earning their way to the free throw line with 295 attempts a team, converting on nearly 16 free throws a game, which is a half point better than their opponents.
 
New Mann In Town: Justin Mann was officially introduced as the head coach of the Argonauts on Monday, making him the fifth full-time coach in program history.  Mann, arriving in August as an assistant coach, assumed interim duties and earned his first victory in December against Delta State.  Prior to his time at UWF, Mann served as the head coach at Independence Community College in Kansas.
 
Big Bench Impact: In Saturday's win over Montevallo, UWF had a season-high 58 points off the bench.  To go along with Kupstas and Washington, Rodney Bryant, Keith Hoffman and Sterling White all had eight points while Ankit Choudhary scored six.  The group accounted for six of the 10 three-point field goals made while they also accounted for half of the team's 24 assists.
 
UWF Taking The Ball Away: On the year, West Florida has 7.38 steals per game as a team which is the fourth best mark in the GSC.  Four Argonauts have at least 10 steals on the season, with Myles Ruth leading the pack with 15.  Washington and White account for 25 steals between them.
 
Scouting West Alabama: The Tigers come into Thursday's matchup with a record of 10-4 overall and 7-3 in league play, putting them into a tie for third in the GSC.  Nick Woodruff is in his fourth season at the helm of the Tiger program, with UWA winning back-to-back GSC Championships the last two seasons.
 
Since Woodruff has taken over, the Tiger defense has been stingy and that is the case once again with West Alabama holding the top defense in the league, as they allow only 63.9 points per contest.  That also puts them 11^th best in the country in terms of scoring defense.  Thaddeus Williams leads the way offensively with 14.4 points per game, while Kuran Garner, Jaylen Lemons and Terry Durham all average over 10 points per contest as well.
 
Series History: Dating back to 2001, UWF is 17-20 all-time against the Tigers. UWA has won the last five meetings, with the Argos last victory coming on January 25, 2020.
 
Scouting Alabama Huntsville: The Chargers, led by coach John Schulman, come into the weekend at 10-4 overall and 8-2 in the GSC which puts them in a tie for first in the league standings.  UAH ranks second in the conference in scoring at 82.8 points per contest with guards Luke Burnett and Tommy Murr averaging 17.1 and 16.9 points per game, respectively. Jack Kostel and Dane Harding are efficient distributors with both averaging over four assists per contest.
 
Series History: Since 2000, the Argonauts have only won four times against the Chargers.  UWF's last victory came December 2019, when the Argos knocked off then 12^th ranked UAH in Pensacola by a final of 65-60.
 
For the latest on the UWF Men's Basketball Team, please visit GoArgos.com or follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @UWFMensBBall.