Dec. 8, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ga. - It was the Kenny Holmes show during the first half in Columbus, Georgia, and then the Ryan Henry feature show for the second half. West Florida won for the second straight time over Columbus State by dominating the second half. Holmes scored 19 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, and three other Argos scored in double digits, as Henry had 17, Charles Bouie 14, and Deondre Boynton finished with 12 points.
At halftime, the Argonauts led CSU by a 27-25 score, and Holmes had 15 points and seven rebounds. The Cougars got out to a 4-0 start, and had their biggest lead of six points at 14-8. However, Kenny Holmes slowly took over and single-handedly pulled the Argos to a two point halftime lead, despite going 0 for 12 shooting from 3-point land. Down by six points, Holmes scored six of the next eight Argo points, with a layup by Bouie sandwiched in between.
The Argonauts had a halftime lead despite shooting only 27% from the field. The trademark for West Florida so far this season is defense, and the Argos stayed ahead on the scoreboard in the first half by shutting down the Cougars to a tune of 32% shooting. That was below the season average of holding their opponents to 35.9% shooting. That statistic is the best in the entire Gulf South Conference. Rod Doss had three assists in the first half, by getting the ball to Holmes at the right time.
Ryan Henry would hit the Argos first three-pointer, just a few minutes into the second half, and it appeared that West Florida was set to pull away. However, the Cougars scored five in a row, and the contest would remain close until Henry hit another 3-pointer with 15:20 left in the game, and the Argos never trailed again. Henry would hit his third three-pointer at 11:40 to play and gave the Argos a five point lead. Henry scored all of his17 points in the second half.
With 6:06 left in the game, Columbus State's Bryant Dunn lost his cool and was hit with a double technical foul. Max Hoggard converted the free throws and it was lights out for the Cougars. The two teams just played three days ago in Pensacola, with the Argos trailing by 13 at the half, only to rally and outscore the Cougars 44-24 in the second half. In the two games combined, Holmes put up 41 points and pulled down 31 rebounds, and the Cougars will be seeing Holmes flying around the court in their dreams the next few nights.
West Florida out rebounded the Cougars by a 46-38 margin, and so far this season, if the Argos win the rebounding edge they have won the game. West Florida improved to 4-3 on the season and will play again at St. Leo on December 17th. Columbus State dropped to 3-5 on the season with the back to back losses to West Florida.
