MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Junior guard Darrion Taylor scored a career-high 29 points for Auburn Montgomery, but it was not enough as the University of West Florida was able to outlast the Warhawks for a 92-85 victory on Monday evening in Gulf South Conference men's basketball action.
 
NOTES
• AUM falls to 6-15 on the season and 2-11 in league play.
• UWF improves to 9-13 overall and 5-9 in the GSC.
• The Warhawks are now 5-8 lifetime against the Argonauts.
• The Argos have swept the season series against AUM.
• The Orange & Black have now dropped five consecutive contests.
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Taylor scored 29 on 12-17 shooting, including going 5-9 from behind the 3-point arc. He also pulled down four rebounds and posted an assist and a steal in 35 minutes of play.
• Junior guard Devorious Brown dished out a career-best eight assists.
• Junior center Aaron Reddick scored 16 and pulled down nine rebounds, adding two blocks to his season total as well.
• Senior guard Kenneth Keith tallied 16 points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The two teams battled to a 12-12 tie over the first five minutes of the contest, before UWF was able to take a 14-12 lead on a Henri Ventoniemi pair of free throws with 14:24 to go in the first. The Argos would go on an 11-4 run over the four minutes to take a 26-16 lead on a layup and free throw by Jarrett Henderson of UWF.
• The Warhawks would begin to fight their way back into the contest, cutting the lead to 25-20 on a Stanley Davis alley-oop dunk from Brown that pulled the home squad to within 25-20 with 9:18 left in the frame. However, the Argos would outscore AUM 21-13 over the final nine minutes of the half to take a 46-33 lead into the break.
• The second half saw the Warhawks begin to slowly claw their way back into striking distance, pulling to within 57-52 on a Keith 3-pointer and then to within 57-55 on a trey by Taylor with 13:51 to play. The teams would trade points back and forth and Keith would pull AUM to within 61-60 on another 3-pointer with 12:23 to go.
• UWF would respond with a trey of their own by Rashaan Benson on their next possession, pushing their lead back to four points. Once again the two teams would trade points before Keith would tie the game at 66-66 with a layup at the 10:03 mark.
• A 6-0 run by the Argos capped off by a pair of free throws by Ventoniemi gave the visitors a 72-66 lead with just over eight minutes to play, but the Warhawks would answer once again. An 8-3 run by AUM cut the deficit to 75-74 after Taylor hit a floater in the paint with 6:18 to go.
• Once again UWF would respond with a run, outscoring AUM 11-0 over the next three minutes before a Davis 3-pointer snapped the scoreless drought for the Orange & Black. Trailing 86-77 with 3:22 remaining, AUM outscored the Argos the rest of the way but could overcome the late drought, falling 92-85 at home.
 
QUOTING THE COACH


INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
• UWF connected on 22-25 free throws while AUM hit 10-11.
• The Argos won the rebounding battle 37-26.
• AUM's bench outscored UWF's 16-2.
 
UP NEXT
The Warhawks will travel to Clinton, Miss., on Thursday evening to take on league foe Mississippi College in a conference game set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
 
For the latest on AUM athletics, find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.