PENSACOLA, Fla. - The University of West Alabama Men's Basketball team won a back-and-forth contest against the West Florida Argonauts, 60-57, on Saturday afternoon at the UWF Fieldhouse.

West Alabama (6-1, 2-0 GSC) held West Florida (6-3, 0-2 GSC) to 41 percent shooting and out rebounded the Argonauts by five to go a perfect 2-0 on GSC Opening weekend. 

"That was a gusty win," said head coach Nick Woodruff. "We weren't perfect but we won this game with our defense."

To begin the game, West Alabama made their presence known on the defensive end as they held West Florida scoreless and forced three turnovers in the first four minutes of the game, leading to a 6-0 advantage. After a slow offensive start, the Argonauts found their rhythm as jumper by Tim Hall Jr. sparked a 9-3 run, tying the game at nine. For the next couple of minutes, UWA's Caleb Parr and UWF's Anthony Igiede traded buckets as Parr nailed a three and a midrange jumper for the Tigers while Igiede scored 11 consecutive points for the Argos. Igiede's second straight three pointer put West Alabama down 20-18 with 7:31 left in the half. Moments later, UWA faced a six-point deficit before BJ Brown Jr. and Travion McCray carried a 13-7 run that tied the game at 33. The Argonauts would end up taking a 35-33 lead into the break after a basket from Hall Jr. on their final possession. 

In the first half, West Alabama shot 43 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from three while West Florida shot 55.6 percent from the field and 80 percent from three. The Argos also shot 15 free throws compared to the Tigers' six attempts.

Brown Jr. got right to work for UWA in the second half. The Point Guard scored six straight points to give West Alabama their first lead since the 9:56 mark of the first half. With 16:05 left to play, the Tigers' defense turned it up a notch as the Argonauts missed nine of their next eleven shots which led to a 15-3 run, giving UWA their largest lead of the night at 54-44. UWF quickly responded, with a Ryan Payne three sparking a 10-0 Argonauts' run to tie the game at 54 with 3:22 left. For the remainder of the game, West Alabama put pressure on West Florida's defense as Jakobe Singleton, Christian Thompson, and McCray all got to the free throw line to clinch a 60-57 win for UWA.

"That's a big time weekend for our group," coach Woodruff continued. "I'm really proud of our guys."

Brown Jr. led the way with a season-high 18 points, three assists, and two steals. Parr added 11 points and four rebounds on 5-8 shooting while Tulip recorded 10 points on two made threes. 

UWA will return home next for matchups against Lee University and Trevecca Nazarene on Thursday and Saturday at Pruitt Hall.