PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Union University men's basketball team defeated the University of West Florida 63-62 Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs improved to 5-3 overall and 1-1 in Gulf South Conference play. The Argonauts dropped to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
With the Argos up 62-56 and seemingly in control with two minutes left, Union began the comeback. Union's Payton Stovall hit a jumper to cut the deficit to four points with 1:47 left. After a UWF miss, Union's Terrandus Smith hit a 3-pointer to bring Union to within one point, 62-61, with 1:05 left. A West Florida turnover gave Union the ball with 44 seconds left. Union missed on its attempt but an offensive rebound from Samory Gueye gave the Bulldogs the ball for another shot. Smith made a layup in the paint and was fouled to put his hit up 63-62 with three seconds left. He missed the free throw and after a timeout, West Florida missed their last second shot.
To start the game, both teams played close, but at the 14:17 mark, Union went on an 8-0 run for its largest lead of the game at 15-7. The two teams tied it up six times in the first half. The Argonauts led 32-30 at the break.
Stovall hit a 3-pointer to open the second half and Union led 33-32. The game was back and forth over the final 20 minutes with five lead changes and was tied four times. Union's largest lead of the second was three points on several occasions. West Florida led by as many as six points once, with 2:04 left in the game.
Union scored 28 of their points in the paint, and the bench chipped in 14 points. The Bulldogs forced 15 turnovers and had 32 rebounds. The Argonauts forced 12 turnovers and had 44 rebounds.
The Bulldogs had three players in double digits. Bryson Butler led with 16 points, and Smith had 13 points. Tylandrius Parks led in rebounds with eight and added 10 points. Union was 38 percent from the field, 35 percent (7-20) from long range, and 92 percent (12-13) from the foul line.
West Florida was led by Jarrett Henderson with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The Argonauts has three players with 11 points each. West Florida was 35 percent from the field, 29 percent (5-17) from long range, and 75 percent (15-20) from the foul line.
Next up for Union is a home game against Williams Baptist College Saturday, December 8th at 4:00 p.m.
-UNION-
