PENSACOLA, Fla. - After a nip and tuck first half the No. 20 West Florida Argonauts pulled away late to hold off an upset minded Lee men's basketball team, 82-74 on Thursday evening.

The Argonauts exacted some revenge on the Flames after Lee handed UWF its first loss of the season back on Jan. 4 in Walker Arena.

While Lee wouldn't go quietly the Argonauts would turn a one-point advantage at halftime into a comfortable eight-point victory thanks to a sizzling 60.9 shooting percentage in the second half.

Colton Blevins led the way for the Flames with 18 points and six rebounds. The sophomore big man was 7 of 11 from the field in the contest.

Freshman Michael McGuirk joined Blevins in double-figures with 12 points off the bench. The sharpshooter from Alabama canned a pair of triples and was a perfect 4 for 4 from the foul line. Sophomore point guard Parker Suedekum added nine points and handed out seven assists.

West Florida's Darryl Tucker electrified the home crowd as he turned in 33 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Argonauts to victory. Tucker was 11 of 14 from the field and marched to the free-throw line to convert 10 of 15. Henri Ventoniemi added 15 points and DJ Thorpe chipped in 12 for the home team.

The two clubs shot nearly identical from the field as Lee hit 24 of 52 (46.2 percent) while the Argonauts went 25 of 52 (48.1 percent). The evenly contested battle featured eight ties and 15 lead changes.

"I thought our guys competed really hard tonight," said head coach Bubba Smith. "Credit West Florida they played well tonight and were really efficient especially in the second half and we didn't have an answer for Tucker all night long. We tried to double him and tried several different schemes but couldn't find the right combination. We probably fouled too much tonight but if we play with the same energy and focus on Saturday at Valdosta it's going to be a great game."

The Flames move to 12-9 overall and 7-7 in the Gulf South Conference (GSC) after Thursday's setback. The win improves the Argonauts to 19-3 on the year and 11-3 in the GSC.

Lee now sits right in the thick of the playoff hunt with six games remaining. The Flames are in a three-way tie for sixth place in the GSC with Delta State and Alabama Huntsville. West Florida sits in second place, two games back of Valdosta State. The top eight teams will qualify for the GSC Tournament.

The Flames will wrap up their current four-game road trip with a visit to Valdosta to take on the red hot Blazers. VSU has won 13 straight games and is currently ranked 12^th in the nation. The Blazers won the first meeting this season back on Jan. 2 in Walker Arena after rallying late in the second half to force overtime before winning, 93-82 in the extra period.