Second Half Run Propels UWF to 72-58 Win at Columbus State

COLUMBUS, Ga. – Junior Jamar Moore (Coolidge, Ga./Faulkner State CC) scored 20 second half points to lead the West Florida men’s basketball team to a 72-58 win at Columbus State on Monday night.  The score was tied 28-28 at halftime, but Moore and the Argonauts shot 59.3 percent from the floor and outscored CSU 44-30 in the second half.  The win broke a three-game losing streak for UWF, and the Argos improved to 2-5 overall.  Columbus State dropped to 1-2 with the loss.

Moore finished the game with 24 points, shooting 9-12 from the field and 3-5 from three-point territory.  He also added eight rebounds and four assists.  Junior Mike Lewis (Upper Marlboro, Md./Eastern Kentucky) added 19 points, and junior Anthony Sims (Mobile, Ala./Faulkner State CC) scored 10 points and led the team with nine rebounds and six assists.  Finally, junior Marquis Mathis (Columbus, Ohio/Cincinnati State CC) scored nine points off the bench.

Columbus State led through the first five minutes, but a pair of free throws by Sims at the 14:30 mark put UWF ahead for the first time, 9-8.  The Cougars came back and took a 14-11 lead on a Jamarquis Steverson jumper at the 11:37 mark, but starting at that point UWF went on an 8-1 run to go ahead 19-15.  The Argos led by as much as seven points in the first half, but CSU finished the period with seven unanswered points, sending the teams into halftime tied at 28-28.

Moore’s second half rampage started in the second minute of play, as he hit two straight three-pointers to put UWF up 36-30.  The junior scored 16 points in the first six minutes of the half, as another three came at the 13:51 mark to give the Argonauts a 46-37 lead.  After Moore’s three, Lewis hit two more of his own, breaking the game wide open and making the score 52-37 West Florida.

The Cougars battled back and narrowed the Argonauts’ lead to four with four straight baskets, including three three-pointers by Steverson.  West Florida responded well, going on a 15-3 run over the next seven minutes to open up a 16-point lead with just 1:51 left in the game.  Lewis scored his last five points in the last minute of play, and the Argos ran away with the 72-58 win.

Four Cougars scored in double digits, as Steverson was joined with Donta Ridley and Steve Peterson with 11 points each.  Paul Darkwa finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

After an extended break, the Argos will be back in action on the road at Delta State on Dec. 12 at 4 p.m.  For information on all UWF Athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.