Feb. 3, 2007
PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Argonauts looked sharp on the offensive end today, but the Lions were unstoppable. North Alabama outlasted UWF today, 85-78, at the UWF Field House. Esmir Guzonjic of UNA was a perfect 13-for-13 from the field for 26 points. He created major problems for UWF's interior defense throughout the game.
West Florida (8-12, 1-6) was in contention to pick up the win from start to finish. The Argos lead reached seven points at 59-52 with 13:01 remaining in the first half. North Alabama (12-10, 5-2) went on a 16-9 run to tie the game at 68-68 with 8:02 left to play. A three-pointer by Daniel Alcorn (Mt. Washington, Ky. / Bullitt East HS) and a lay-up from Marcus Grant (Axis, Ala. / Faulkner State CC) put UWF on top, 73-68 with 5:53 remaining.
A 9-0 run by UNA put the Lions in the lead for good. The run was spirited by four quick points from Guzonjic and a three-pointer by Milton Nance. West Florida's Barry Durosier (Orlando, Fla. / Niagara Univ.) canned a three to cut the UNA lead to 77-76 with 3:16 remaining. Guzonjic scored again and Nance made one of two from the line to put UNA on top by three. A UWF turnover followed by a three-pointer from Quinn Beckwith with 31 seconds left, put the game out of reach for UWF.
Guzonjic added 10 rebounds to his 26 points. Nance tallied 22 points with eight assists. Beckwith had 14 points, six assists and four steals. The Lions shot 50.0 percent from the field, and 9-for-22 from three point range. They were just 4-for-12 from the line.
Five Argos scored in double figures. Durosier led UWF with 17 points. Deondre Boynton (Pompano Beach, Fla. / North Broward Prep) scored 14 points with eight rebounds. Andy Beauchamp (Miami, Fla. / Florida CC at Jacksonville) notched 12 points with nine boards and three blocks. Daniel Alcorn tallied 12 points with six assists. Grant put together a double-double performance with 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. West Florida shot 53.1 percent from the field. They committed 23 turnovers to UNA's 14.
West Florida hosts Alabama-Huntsville Monday night at 7:30 p.m. Listen live on AM 1620 or on sportsjuice.com. Also, follow the "Live Stats" on goargos.com.
