CLEVELAND, Miss. – The University of West Florida men's basketball team kicked off 2025 just the way they wanted to with a 77-73 win over Delta State on the road Thursday evening.

The Argos win was their second Gulf South Conference victory of the season and third win of the season.

Four players hit the double-digit mark in scoring on Thursday night with Elijah Wyche leading the way scoring 16 points. Wyche added four rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in the win. Shay Davis and Xavier Glenn finished with 13 points and Le'Tarion White scored 10.

UWF trailed for most of the first half, but the team closed strong to carry a 31-23 lead into the break. With 6:21 left in the first half Wyche's layup tied the game at 17-17. The Argos then went on a 14-6 run to build an eight-point lead.

In the second half, West Florida built the lead to 13 points, but Delta State was able to make it close late in regulation.  With under a minute remaining the Statesmen hit a three-pointer and drilled two free throws on the next possession to cut the lead to just two points. Zondrick Garrett put the exclamation point on the first win of the year with a dunk from the feed from Rodney Bryant Jr. with 17 seconds left. Bryant Jr. then forced a turnover to seal the game for the Argos.

UWF shot over 50-percent from the field and scored 32 points on fast break buckets. The Argos also outrebounded Delta State 41-34.

The Argos (3-9, 2-4 GSC) will play again on Saturday at 4 p.m. against Mississippi College.