BOX SCORE

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Tautvydas Kupstas scored a team-high 16 points to lead the UWF Men's Basketball Team past Montevallo, 83-71, on Saturday night inside the UWF Field House.

With the win, West Florida moves to 4-9 overall and 2-7 in the Gulf South Conference while the Falcons drop to 4-10 and 3-7 in league play.  The Argonauts moved within a game of both the Falcons and Monday night's opponent, Auburn Montgomery, in the league standings, with tonight's results.

"Man, it feels good to be at home", said UWF Head Coach Justin Mann.  "The support from the fans tonight was tremendous.  We got off to a slow start tonight but we stayed in the moment and dug ourselves out of the hole and had the lead going into the half."

UWF shot 50 percent from the field, their second-highest mark of the year, and knocked down 10 three-pointers.  The Argonauts also shared the ball well, with 24 assists being the most since the November 14th victory over Pensacola Christian.  Channick Nkoma added 12 points while Xavier Washington recorded 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds off the bench. Washington and Kupstas contributed to the Argonauts season-best 58 bench points.

After an 11-0 start for Montevallo, UWF quickly went to their bench and responded with a 14-2 run on the strength of four three-pointers.  UWF would stretch their lead to as many as 11 in the first half on a lay-up by Myles Ruth at the 5:13 mark, before the Falcons would close the frame on a 15-5 run to go to the break with the Argos leading, 42-41.

The Falcons would re-take the lead early in the second frame, leading by as many as six after a three by Charlie Champagne with 15:11 to go in regulation.  UM would then extend the lead to eight at 65-57 with just over nine minutes to go, before UWF would clamp down on defense and find their rhythm on offense.  A three from Kupstas would cap an 8-0 run to tie the game at 65, with UWF later taking the lead on two free-throws by Washington with just under five minutes left.  Jaylen Curry of UM cut the Argonaut lead to three with 3:59 remaining before back-to-back threes from Ankit Choudhary and Rodney Bryant essentially sealed the game with the home team stifling the visitors on the defensive end, while knocking down key free throws of their own on the other end.

"It was a back and forth second half", remarked Mann.  "We had to play some different lineups because how small they played.  Our bench was phenomenal tonight and overall it was a team win.  I am just so proud of how the locker fought, just like they have every night.  They have a lot of heart and never quit.  I hope to see everyone on Monday night, go Argos!"

Bryant and Choudhary combined for 14 points and four made three-pointers.  Rodney also had a team-high four steals.

After shooting a blistering 51.6 percent in the first half, UWF held Montevallo to just 9-27 (33 percent) shooting in the second frame.  West Florida also forced 16 Falcon turnovers which resulted in 22 points off turnovers for the Argos.

Curry stuffed the stat sheet for the Falcons with 22 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a steal.  Cam Glover added 12 points and two steals while Aidan Gardiner scored 11 points in the defeat.

UWF will return on Monday night to host, Auburn Montgomery, at the UWF Field House in another crucial conference matchup.  Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm.

For the latest on the UWF Men's Basketball Team, please visit GoArgos.com or follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @UWFMensBBall.