Alaska Fairbanks Pulls Away, Defeats UWF 83-74

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The West Florida men’s basketball team let a first half lead slip away, and host school Alaska Fairbanks pulled away in the second half for an 83-74 win over the Argonauts on the final day of the Alaska Invitational on Saturday.  West Florida had three players score in double digits, led by junior guard Mike Lewis (Upper Marlboro, Md./Eastern Kentucky) with a season-high 24 points.

Senior forward Darryl McGhee (Defuniak Springs, Fla./Gulf Coast CC) and junior forward Jamar Moore (Coolidge, Ga./Faulkner State CC) also scored in double digits for West Florida (1-3) in the loss.  McGhee scored 16 points on 7-9 shooting from the field, while Moore added 13 points in a 6-10 performance.  Moore also flirted with a triple double, tallying 10 rebounds and a team-high six assists.

The game was close for much of the first half, as neither team took a lead of more than five points in the first period.  The Argos went up by five with 5:25 left in the half on a pair of free throws by junior Marquis Mathis (Columbus, Ohio/Cincinnati State CC), but the Nanooks (1-2) quickly tied the score on a three-pointer by Colton Growden and a layup by Parrish West.  West led UAF with a game-high 32 points.  The teams traded baskets through the rest of the half, but the Nanooks took a four-point lead into the break after West’s seventh field goal of the period.

UWF started quickly in the second half, as baskets by Mathis and Moore cut the UAF lead to two points on two separate occasions.  Starting at the 18:02 mark, a jumper by Adrese Lavern kicked off a 12-0 run for UAF, giving the home team a 14-point lead with 16:52 left to go.

The Argos kept at it, and a quick 7-1 run highlighted by a three-pointer by Lewis at the 5:47 mark cut the UAF lead to four at 68-64.  The Nanooks struck back with eight unanswered points, including four more by West, to put it out of reach at 76-64 with 2:11 left to go.

West Florida shot 44.8 percent (26-58) for the game, barely trailing the Nanooks at 48.5 percent (33-68).  The Argos outrebounded UAF by one at 36-35, but the Nanooks outscored UWF in second chance points at 9-5.

UWF will continue its season-opening road trip with a visit to Montevallo, Ala. for the UM Coca-Cola Classic on Thanksgiving weekend.  The Argos will first play Georgia College and State on Friday, Nov. 26 at 6 p.m., and they will then face host school and No. 24 ranked Montevallo on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 6 p.m.