PENSACOLA, Fla. – An attempt to spoil the University of West Florida's home opener came up short Tuesday, Nov. 20 as Spring Hill College fell to UWF, 79-69.
The Badgers knocked down 4-of-7 from beyond the arc to open the game with a 12-4 lead. The Argos rallied with eight straight to even the game at 12. Spring Hill and West Florida swapped the lead for the next nine minutes before UWF's Maxwell Benoit hit a 3 with 4:03 to play in the first half to spark a 13-2 run to close the first half with West Florida in front, 39-30.
Similar to the first half, Spring Hill opened the first half with a pair of 3s, this time by
Andrew Dotson and
Quinn Sutton, to close with three points, 39-36.
Justin Allison managed to tie the game, 49-49, with 14:10 to play on a steal and fast-break lay-up, but the Badgers were never able to regain their lead.
After a 52-52 tie, West Florida gained separation with a 14-2 run. The Argos' lead grew as high as 14 points, 73-59, with 3:34 to play.
Brandon Fischer cut the game to seven points, 76-69, with 26 seconds to play, but were unable to close the gap. The Argos knocked down 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute to secure the win.
Dotson and Sutton scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, to lead Spring Hill, followed by nine apiece by Greyson Rogers and
Christian Brandt.
Jared Holland led the team in both rebounds (9) and assists (6).
Rashaan Benson (21) and Jon Brown (20) led West Florida, followed by Alassane Kah (11) and Jarrett Henderson (10). Henri Ventoniemi led all players with 14 rebounds.
Spring Hill (3-3) will continue its road swing in the Gulf South Conference with a trip to Auburn University Montgomery on Sunday, Nov. 25 at 4 p.m.
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