BOX SCORE

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Le'Tarion White recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds and UWF shot 49 percent from the field, but it was not enough as the UWF Men's Basketball Team fell to Alabama Huntsville, 83-78, on Thursday night at the UWF Field House.
 
With the loss, West Florida falls to 7-20 and 5-18 in the Gulf South Conference while UAH moves to 18-9 and 16-7 in league play.
 
UWF shot 49 percent from the field, boosted by a blistering 56 percent mark in the second period.  The home team kept up with the fast-paced Chargers by scoring 17 fast-break points, 14 second-chance points and 38 points in the paint.
 
White's double-double paced the Argonauts while three other players scored in double-figures.  Xavier Washington and Channick Nkoma added 12 points apiece with point guard, Sterling White III registered 11 points on a team-high three, three-point field goals.
 
"Man, I love how hard these guys fight!", said UWF Head Coach Justin Mann.  "We fought hard the entire night and honestly, we did a pretty good job defensively for about 35 minutes.  We had some offensive rebounds and blow byes that allowed them to get away from us for a minute.  If you take away some of those minor mistakes in those five minutes, we come away with a win. They are a really good team and you have to execute for 40 minutes."
 
The Argonauts got off to another good start in the first half, leading by as many as six points in the early going.  UAH briefly re-gained the lead on a three-pointer by Luke Burnett at the 9:57 mark, before UWF scored four straight points to go up three with just over nine minutes remaining.
 
UWF maintained that advantage before a 9-3 run gave the Chargers a one-point lead with 4:09 left in the first period.  The rest of the first half remained close before Le'Tarion White jumper broke a tie to give the Argos a 39-37 advantage going into the locker room.
 
Alabama Huntsville scored eight of the first 10 points in the second half to re-take the lead.  The Chargers built the advantage up to as many as nine before UWF clawed back and eventually tied the game up at 61 on a three-pointer by Tautvydas Kupstas.
 
UAH took control once again as the visitors got the lead back to nine with 1:53 remaining, but once again, UWF did not quit.  A three-pointer by Eli Brown and then four straight points by Le'Tarion White, including a thunderous fast-break dunk, brought the deficit back to four with 16 seconds remaining.  It was unfortunately not enough as Jack Kostel knocked down three free throws to seal the game and get UAH in the win column.
 
Kostel led all scorers with 27 points and five assists while Tommy Murr added 23 points for the visitors.  Luke Burnett totaled 12 points and four assists for the Chargers.
 
"I think we had a lot of guys grow up tonight and I am excited about the future with them", continued Mann.  "Let's go send our seniors out with a win! Go Argos!"
 
UWF will wrap up their season on Saturday afternoon when they take on West Alabama.  Tip-off against the Tigers is set for 4:00 PM on Saturday.
 
For the latest on the UWF Men's Basketball Team, please visit GoArgos.com or follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @UWFMensBBall.