BOX SCORE

LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The UWF Men's Basketball struggled offensively on Thursday night, falling 58-46 on the road at West Alabama at Pruitt Hall.
 
With the loss, West Florida drops to 4-10 and 2-8 in the Gulf South Conference while UWA improves to 11-4 overall and 8-3 in league action.

"That was a tough, physical game", said UWF Head Coach Justin Mann.  "We fought for 40 minutes, and we had a great defensive effort, holding them to 36 percent (shooting) from the field and 20 percent from the three-point range.  Unfortunately, we got outrebounded and they shot 28 free throws to our nine.  In a game like that, we have to be able to make some shots."

 UWF had a tough shooting night, finishing the night with a 40 percent shooting mark from the field.  UWF also went 3-14 from three-point range (21 percent), their second lowest mark of the season.  The 46-point outing was their lowest of the 2023-24 campaign.  Xavier Washington led the team with 11 points and five rebounds while Tautvydas Kupstas added nine points.  Myles Ruth added eight points and a game-high seven assists.
 
West Florida started well, gaining a 14-11 advantage in the first half on a three-pointer by Kupstas, his 28^th of the year at the 11:28 mark.  It would be the last lead of the night for the Argos, before UWA would regain the lead on two free-throws by Kuran Garner.  A dunk by Sano Rutatika cut the lead to one with 6:40 to go, before the Tigers finished the half on a 9-2 run to go into the break, up 29-21.
 
The Tigers lead would range from six points to ten mid-way through the second half until a jumper by Kupstas cut the deficit to six with 11:55 remaining in regulation. A lay-up from Le'Tarion White brought the deficit down to eight with a little over eight minutes remaining, before UWA would go on another 9-2 run to put separation between the two teams and essentially finish the contest.
 
UWA only shot 36 percent but had three players in double-figures in scoring, led by C.J Melton and Jaylen Lemons who both finished with 13.  Terry Durham added 11 points while Maurice Dickson grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.  West Alabama outrebounded the Argos, 46-22, which included 15 offensive boards for the home team leading to 13 second-chance points.  The Tigers also went 19-28 (67 percent) from the free-throw line.

"I was proud of our effort tonight and the best part is we get to learn from this and get ready for (Alabama) Huntsville on Saturday", continued Mann.

UWF will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against Alabama Huntsville.  Tip-off from Spragins Hall in Huntsville is set for 4 PM.
 
For the latest on the UWF Men's Basketball Team, please visit GoArgos.com or follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @UWFMensBBall.