Dec. 29, 2007
PENSACOLA, Fla. - In a game perfectly suited for a holiday tournament, with the Tritons of Missouri St. Louis in bright red, and the Argos in their dark green uniforms, it looked a lot like Christmas. It wasn't Saint Nick, but rather Ryan Henry delivering the gift baskets, as the junior guard connected on 10 of 16 shots to lead the way with 23 points. Kenny Holmes was quicker than any reindeer, as he slithered thru for 13 rebounds, and Charles Bouie played the grinch, as he swatted away six shots, and in the end he brought the win.
Henry got the Argos out of the gate early with eight of the first 14 points for UWF. Then with the game tied at 22, Holmes started the first major momentum swing with a rebound and a long outlet pass to Henry for a layup, to start a 6-0 West Florida run, and the Argos went into the half up 28-24. The Tritons Tim Green would score the first seven points of the second half, to put Missouri St. Louis back in the lead. The game would remain close until West Florida put together a seven point run at the 10:00 mark. Max Hoggard converted a layup, and Holmes followed with a basket, and Henry hit a three pointer to put UWF up 46-39.
With the score at 49-46, Holmes flew into the lane to grab an offensive rebound and put the basket in as he was fouled. After converting the three point play, UWF was up 52-46. The Tritons closed it to 60-58, but then Bouie blocked consecutive shot attempts by Missouri St. Louis, and then he converted two free throws to help seal the win. Bouie finished the evening with nine points, six blocks, and two steals.
Coach Don Hogan was pleased with his teams' effort, "we did a good job defensively, holding them to 37 percent from the field. They were averaging 48 percent shooting from the field and we did a great job stopping them. Also, when we can win the boards (34-33) with the challenges we face with our post and inside players being outsized, that's a credit to our hustle and the make up of this ballclub."
The Argos shot the ball well tonight, and Coach Hogan credited Ryan Henry. "He made some big shots throughout the game and played hard." Hogan also added, "We thought Kenny Holmes came up big for us in the second half, and did a solid job on the boards. As a team, we still turned the ball over too much. We also need to do a better job of handling the press; we move too fast at times when attacking the press."
The Argonauts were without guard Josh Jackson, who is still doubtful for tomorrow, but should be back by the January 2nd game. West Florida will face Fayetteville State on Sunday, and hosts Rochester College on January 2nd. West Florida improved to 7-3 with the win, and received solid performances from Rod Doss, with 10 points, and Deondre Boynton, who added six points and six assists. Max Hoggard came off the bench to score four points.
