BOX SCORE

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Eli Brown had 21 points on seven made three-pointers, but it was not enough as the UWF Men's Basketball Team fell at Montevallo, 91-83, on Saturday afternoon at Central State Bank Arena.
 
West Florida falls to 7-19 and 5-17 in Gulf South Conference play, while the Falcons move to 11-16 and 10-13 in league action.
 
UWF shot 50 percent from the field and tied a season-high 13 three-point field goals on 38 percent shooting from outside.  West Florida out-rebounded the Falcons, 30-29, but committed 12 turnovers leading to 26 points for the hosts.
 
Brown led the Argos in scoring, while Xavier Washington added 18 points and six rebounds.  Le'Tarion White and Tautvydas Kupstas chipped in 24 combined points with Rodney Bryant tallying a team-high seven assists.
 
"We had a tough time defensively in the second half after a really good first half", said UWF Head Coach Justin Mann.  "We held them to 30 points in the first half and we let them go for 61 in the second period.  Our offense could not keep up with them and their star Freshman point guard (Fussell).  Our defense has been really good to us throughout the season but the past few games it's not been there."
 
West Florida got off to a hot start in the contest, holding a 15-7 advantage at the 11:58 mark of the first period.  Montevallo countered with a 9-0 run, before the Argos answered with an 8-0 run of their own to lead by seven with 5:52 remaining in the half.  After the Falcons took a one-point advantage with 3:55 on the clock, Brown connected on four of his seven made threes in the half to boost UWF to a 37-30 lead as the teams went into the locker room.
 
Montevallo flipped the script to open the second period, as UM scored the first 15 points of the period to lead, 45-37, with 16:13 remaining.  The Falcons maintained an eight-point advantage midway through the period, before a Kupstas three-pointer cut the deficit to one with 7:40 left.
 
UWF kept the contest close before a Brandon Fussell lay-up expanded the Falcon lead to 74-66 with 4:31 remaining.  Back-to-back lay-ups from Washington and Le'Tarion White got the deficit back to one with 2:18 on the clock, but a 6-0 run, followed by clutch free-throw shooting allowed UM to seal the victory.
 
Fussell led all scorers with 50 points, the most by a GSC player this season, and the second most recorded in Division II in the 2023-24 shooting.  UM shot 56 percent from the field, with a 67 percent tally in the second period as they scored 60 of their 91 points.  Tyson Sexton and Jack Henderson also scored in double-figures for Montevallo.
 
"I look forward to being home this week for senior night and to celebrate our seniors", continued Mann.
 
The Argonauts return home for their final two games of the regular season, as they welcome Alabama Huntsville and West Alabama, to the UWF Field House next weekend.  Tip-off against the Chargers is set for 7:30 PM on Thursday before a 4:00 PM Saturday match-up with the Tigers wraps up the season.
 
For the latest on the UWF Men's Basketball Team, please visit GoArgos.com or follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @UWFMensBBall.