CHANDLER, Ariz. – Isaac Howard played the best 25 minutes of his college career, scoring 25 points in the second half to lead Argo basketball on an 18-point comeback against Olivet Nazarene (Ill.). His efforts were enough to force overtime, but not in overtime, as UGF lost to the Tigers 82-77 OT.
                
UGF was in a 13-point hole to start the second half, and after three more minutes of play, that was extended to 18 points. At the 16:36 mark, senior forward Isaac Howard scored his first points of the game, knocking down a 3-pointer off a pass from teammate Matthew Brooks-McGregor.
 
The rhythm three turned into a break though moment for an Argo team that struggled to score in the first half. UGF managed just 25 points through the first 20 minutes of play, getting 8 from Brooks-McGregor and 5 from freshman Quesley-Marie Noresias.
 
In the second half, Howard would equal that point total by himself.
 
Once the senior's heat check was made obvious, UGF kept feeding him the ball. While the Tigers usually answered on the other end of the floor, it was often a three for two trade in favor of the Argos.
 
Those trades slowly whittled away the ONU lead, and another three from Howard with just under 3 minutes to go brought UGF within one score of the lead. A rare point in the paint for Howard, assisted by junior forward Treyvon Bashir, with 46 seconds remaining brought the score to 68-67 ONU.
 
This time it was Bashir's turn to make a clutch play. The forward came up with a crucial steal after Howard's bucket and then drew a foul, giving him a chance to tie or take the lead with two free throws.
 
Earlier in the game, Bashir missed both sides of a two-shot foul, but this time the junior calmly sank the front end to tie the score for the first time since four minutes into the first half.
 
The second one missed and was successfully rebounded by Tigers with 39 seconds left of the clock. ONU looked poised to take the lead on a drive into the lane with 11 seconds left, but Argo senior Sigman Farmer III swooped in to block the ball and quickly transitioned the ball to the offensive end.
 
As the clock ticked to 4 seconds, Brooks-McGregor rose up through contact for a potentially game-winning fastbreak layup, but the attempt was about two inches too strong, and game went into overtime.
 
Howard hit another three in overtime, but a few Argo misses cost UGF in extra minutes.
 
The final tally for Howard was 28 points, setting a new career high for the senior. He finished the game 7-13 from 3-point range and added 3 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal to his total.
 
If Howard's performance was the difference maker, Brooks-McGregor was the constant presence that UGF in the game when Howard wasn't hitting. The redshirt-junior finished with 19 points, a career high, and three assists in 31 minutes of play.
 
Farmer III was the third Argo to score over 10 points, shooting 6-10 from the field for a total of 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 game-saving block. Bashir did the little things for UGF, leading the team with 8 rebounds, and adding 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals.
 
With the loss, UGF's record goes to 7-3 (1-1). The game was the first of three games in three days for the Argos as part of the 2016 Cactus Classic. The team's next game will be against Southwestern Christian (Okla.) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 20.