Dec. 17, 2007
ST. LEO, Fla. - Lucas Malone hit two free throws with 1:02 left in the second overtime, which proved to be the game winning points. With the score tied at 80, Malone grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed jumper by Josh Jackson, and was fouled. The Freshman Guard calmly nailed both free throws, and then the Argos survived two chances by the Lions to tie the score again. Ryan Henry scored 24, while Jackson chipped in 20 points to lead the Argos to the road victory.
Head Coach Don Hogan was excited with the win, "This was a great win for us to come into a hostile environment, one of the top teams in the Sunshine State Conference, and come out with a win. Our bench was great, especially Lucas (Malone), Tyler (Fleming), and David (Maddux), who had to play a lot of minutes due to our foul trouble." Four Argonauts fouled out of the contest, but the bench stepped up big with 35 points and 18 rebounds. Jackson provided 20 points off the bench, by hitting five three point shots.
West Florida hit 14 three point shots in the contest, and was able to use the long distance shooting to get out to a lead, which they held for most of the contest. Coach Hogan knew the three point shots would be there, "We were prepared for their zone, and we worked the ball well to get the open outside shots. Several guys stepped up with big shots today, and this close contest will only help us in close situations as the season moves on." Probably the biggest shot of the game was Ryan Henry's three-pointer with seven seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 69.
In the early going, the Argonauts broke a 17-17 tie, on a jumper by Henry with 5:26 left in the first half, and led until the Lions finally tied the game again at 60 with 3:31 left in regulation. West Florida led by nine at halftime, and held a lead ranging from seven to 12 points for the first 14 minutes of the second half. However, a 17-1 run by the Lions turned a 10 point deficit of 59-49 into a 66-60 lead with 1:24 to play. The Argonauts then stepped up and hit three 3-pointers in the final minute of regulation to force the first overtime.
In the final minute of regulation, Jackson hit a three pointer to pull the Argos within 66-63, after an offensive rebound by Charles Bouie, who found the open Jackson. After two free throws by the Lions' Quentin Cullop increased the lead to 68-63, Henry hit a three with 18 seconds left. After the Lions, George Eshesimua made one of two free throws, Henry hit another three pointer to tie the game, and send it to overtime. Rod Doss started the first overtime with a three pointer, but the Argos only scored two other points in the first overtime, and both teams missed two shots in the final minute, and the Lions missed two free throws with 3.8 seconds left and the game went into the second overtime.
West Florida scored first in the second overtime, as Henry hit a jumper with 3:36 to play. After, Kyle Rowland tied it for the Lions, Jackson would hit a running layup with 2:26 to play, and David Maddux followed with a Jumper only 20 seconds later to give West Florida a four point lead. However, a free throw and a three pointer by Rowland tied the score, and set the stage for Malone to score the game winning points at the free throw line.
Charles Bouie added 11 points, seven rebounds, and four block shots before fouling out in the second overtime. Lucas Evangelista chipped in with four points and five rebounds, and David Maddux contributed with four points and six rebounds. Malone scored five points, including the final two points of the contest, and pulled down four rebounds. Deondre Boynton scored six points and dished out five assists, while fellow guard Rod Doss added six points, five rebounds, and two assists. Meanwhile, Kyle Rowland led the Lions with 24 points, while Jordan Prais added 15 points and 12 rebounds for St. Leo.
West Florida improved to 5-3 on the season, while St. Leo dropped to 4-3 with the loss. The Argonauts play again on the road at Nova Southeastern Wednesday night in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The next home games for West Florida will be in the Comfort Inn/ Pensacola Beach Holiday Classic on December 29th and 30th. The Argos will take on Fayetteville State and Missouri St. Louis. Game time for both games will be 6:30 pm.
