The University of West Florida men’s basketball team used a late rally to comeback and defeat Christian Brothers University 67-63 on Monday night. The Argonauts (6-8, 2-6 in the Gulf South Conference) snapped five game losing skid with the win after UWF scored 15 points in the remaining four minutes to take the win.
“I liked the way we hung in there tonight and we didn’t quit,” said head coach Bob Stinnett. “We beat a very good team tonight that was well coached.”
The Buccaneers maintained the lead for most of the game including much of the second half and with four minutes remaining they held a nine point lead. West Florida didn’t give up however, and after senior Erin Straughn (Pensacola, Fla./East Carolina University) made three 3-pointers in two minutes, UWF took the lead with under a minute to play. Strong defensive play as a team and a key block by sophomore Deangelo Legrier (Orlando, Fla./Edgewater HS) sealed the win for the Argos with UWF closing out the last four minutes on a 15-2 run.
“It was a good feeling to make those shots for my team,” said Erin Straughn. “This gives us a lot of confidence going forward, we know we can do it now.”
As a team, West Florida led most statistical categories after outshooting their opponent 43 percent (23-53) to 41 percent (27-65) and out rebounding them 37-27. However, the free throw line would be the difference after UWF went 16-20 from the line and CBU couldn’t earn a trip to the line going 0-0.
Four Argos scored in double-digits for UWF including Jason Laatsch (Birmingham, Ala./Briarwood Christian School) who led UWF with 16 points in 32 minutes.
“This was a huge win for us,” said Jason Laatsch. “Anytime you stop a five game losing streak it’s a good thing, now we just have to build on this and carry it on the West Alabama and West Georgia next weekend.”
Straughn finished the night with 12 points after going 4-for-6 from the 3-point line while senior Tyler Funk (Clarence, N.Y./Hillsborough CC) added 11 points and seven rebounds. Lendward Griffin (Jacksonville, Fla./Ribault HS) rounded out the double-digit scorers after he totaled 10 points while also grabbing six rebounds and added four assists to lead UWF.
West Florida will continue conference play on the road next weekend when they travel to West Alabama January 10 and then West Georgia January 12.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: UWF ends losing streak against Christian Brothers University in men’s basketball