BOX SCORE

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Le'Tarion White and Xavier Washington combined for 43 points, but it was not enough as the UWF Men's Basketball Team dropped a tight contest at Auburn Montgomery, 82-78, on Thursday night at the AUM Gymnasium.
 
West Florida drops to 7-18 and 5-16 in the Gulf South Conference, while AUM moves to 11-15 and 8-14 in league action.
 
UWF out shot the Warhawks, 49 to 44 percent, but committed 21 turnovers which led to 15 points for AUM.  The Argonauts also went 20-27 from the free-throw line and scored 32 points on the fast break.
 
White led the way, shooting 8-15 from the field as he added four rebounds, one block and two steals, while Washington secured his fifth double-double of the year with 10 rebounds and two steals.  Rodney Bryant and Sterling White III added 13 and 10 points, respectively, with White III adding a team-high four assists.

"It was a competitive game all the way to the end", said UWF Head Coach Justin Mann. "I am proud of our fight and effort.  We got out rebounded and lost the points in the paint battle, but to only lose by four and have 15 less shot attempts, means we did a lot of things well. We had some opportunities that let get away in the game as we had four continous stops but we did not execute on the offensive side of the ball."
 
West Florida got off to a good start in the contest, grabbing a 16-15 advantage off a lay-up by Washington with 14:25 to go in the first half.  AUM responded with a 17-8 run to lead by eight with just under eight minutes remaining, before a 10-3 Argonaut run over the next three minutes cut the deficit to one.
 
The Warhawks expanded the advantage to seven before the Argonauts cut back into the deficit to head to the locker room, trailing 41-38.  
 
Both teams shot well in the early part of the second half, with UWF taking the lead at 50-49 with 14:15 left in regulation on a free-throw by Sano Rutatika.  AUM quickly regained the lead and boosted their advantage to ten at the 8:47 mark of the second period.
 
A 6-0 run by the Argos brought the deficit back to four with under eight minutes left, but the Warhawks clawed back as the lead ballooned to 10 with 3:30 left on the clock.  After UWF cut the deficit to 5 with 1:09 remaining, two turnovers from Tautvydas Kupstas and Washington kept the Argos from getting the lead to one possession, and from there AUM made late free throws to seal the win for the hosts.
 
Malachi Rhodes led all players with 31 points and 14 rebounds for the Warhawks.  Guards, Jalil Robinson and Jalen Gaston, added 16 and 10 points, respectively as AUM dominated in the paint with 48 points.

"Again, I am proud of the effort and I'm excited to play again on Saturday.  Go Argos!", continued Mann.
 
UWF stays on the road as they face Montevallo on Saturday afternoon.  Tip-off is set for 4 PM in Montevallo, Alabama.
 
For the latest on the UWF Men's Basketball Team, please visit GoArgos.com or follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @UWFMensBBall.