PENSACOLA, Fla.-Host West Florida out-scored the Christian Brothers University Bucs 15-2 over the final four minutes as they rallied for a 67-63 win over CBU Monday night.
The Bucs (7-5, 4-4 GSC) took control early with a 13-2 run capped by a
Sidy Sall (Dakar, Senegal/Seeds Academy) layup with 13:34 remaining, giving CBU a 16-11 advantage.
After UWF (6-8, 2-6) regained the lead with a 6-0 burst sandwiching the halftime break, CBU answered with eight straight, capped by a
Trey Casey (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) triple that gave them a 37-32 lead with 17:16 remaining. The Bucs held on to the lead until the game's final minute. CBU appeared to have put the game away with a 9-2 run capped by a
Ryan Fleming (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) layup with 4:17 remaining, as the Bucs led 61-52. But from there, CBU went cold and the Argos caught fire. UWF went 5-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-4 from deep, in the decisive 15-2 run.
Jason Laatsch started the Argos' run with back-to-back buckets, and Erin Straughn followed with consecutive three-pointers to give UWF the lead. Sall answered with a layup to put the Bucs back on top with 1:09 remaining, but Straughn followed with another trey with 55 seconds remaining. The Bucs came up empty with a pair of missed shots on their next two possessions, and UWF's Lendward Griffin salted the game away with a pair of free throws with four seconds to play.
Casey scored a game-high 22 points, and
Drew Hildreth (Memphis, Tenn./Bolton HS) chipped in with 12.
Jordan Miller (Fulton, Ky./Fulton City HS) added 10 with five rebounds in 22 minutes.
Laatsch led the Argos with 16 points, and Straughn scored 12. Tyler Funk scored 11, and Griffin added 10.
The Bucs shot 41.5 percent (27-of-65) for the game to UWF's 43.4 percent (23-of-53). The Argos were 80 percent (16-of-20) at the charity stripe while the Bucs did not attempt a free throw in the game for the first time since joining the NCAA. UWF out-rebounded the Bucs 40-29, including a 10-8 edge in offensive rebounds, but they committed 13 turnovers to the Bucs' nine.
The Bucs return to action Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. as they visit North Alabama. Their next home game is Monday night at 7 p.m. against Alabama-Huntsville.