Nov. 15, 2007
PENSACOLA, Fla. - The West Florida Men's basketball team hit the ground running to start the 2007-08 season, and they cruised to a 91-69 win over Concordia College (Selma). Junior Point Guard Deondre Boynton (Pompano Beach, Fla.) set the tempo early by controlling the fast break. Boynton would end the game with 11 points and nine assists. Junior Josh Jackson (Madison, Wisc.) started the scoring barrage for the Argos, as he scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half.
Head Coach Don Hogan was glad to get the season going, and generally pleased with the performance. "Concordia is a very athletic team, that throws a lot of different defenses at you, and we did a good job doing what we needed to do. However, we did give up too many offensive rebounds, and we still have a long way to go, but overall a decent start."
Some early three pointers kept Concordia (5-7) close for much of the first half. With the score at 27-24, the Argos (1-0) put together a 12-1 run to end the first half. Back to back layups by Ryan Henry (Jr. / Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Boynton started the run, and Jackson capped it off with a three pointer with 31 seconds left in the first half.
Boynton was asked about the highlight of the game, and his response, "When I passed the ball to Rod Doss for a dunk. My highlights are always when I make a pass that allows a teammate to do something good." Boynton will be expected to shoulder some of the leadership role this year. "This is my third year and we have a lot of new players, so I think my leadership can help keep us focused," stated Boynton.
Coach Hogan was pleased with Boynton and some other individual performances. "Deondre did some good things and ran the team well, but he has to watch out for picking up some silly fouls. We worked on getting the ball inside, and Charles Bouie did a nice job on the inside. We saw some good things out of Kenny Holmes, who is coming off injuries from last season. Josh Jackson played real well, and we saw some good things from Chris Ammons off the bench." Coach Hogan was able to play fourteen different players, and 10 players saw at least 10 minutes.
Henry and Jackson were the scoring leaders for the Argonauts with 17 points apiece. Jackson is excited about the team, "We have guys who are willing to work hard, and willing to get better to win. It was enjoyable to have the team play together and win."
The Argonauts opened up the offense in the second half as they shot 61 percent, while holding Concordia to only 31% shooting in the second half. West Florida out rebounded the hornets 46-39, but did give 20 offensive rebounds. Charles Bouie (Jr. / Pahokee, Fla.) led the Argonauts on the boards, with seven rebounds, and added five blocked shots, to go along with 12 points. Kenny Holmes (Jr. / Slidell, Ala.) had a solid night with seven points, five rebounds, and two steals.
Senior Vitor Boccardo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) provided some solid play with six points and five rebounds off the bench. Junior Guard Rod Doss (Jr. / Athens, Ala.) had the highlight dunk of the game, while Freshman Chris Ammons (Jacksonville, Fla.) had a nifty reverse layup for two of his four points. Freshman Lucas Malone (Niceville, Fla.) made the most of his minutes, scoring five points in nine minutes of play.
Concordia was led by Joshua Williams with 16 points, and Ronald Cooper with 13. West Florida will play again on Saturday at 1:00 pm, when they host Puerto Rico Rio Pedras. The Argonauts are in the middle of a four game home stand to start the season.
