PENSACOLA, Fla. — One rebound was all North Alabama needed to have a shot at claiming a huge road win Thursday night at West Florida.

The Lions, however, could not come up with that one rebound and West Florida escaped with a 75-69 victory and a sweep in the regular-season series.

West Florida (15-9, 5-5 GSC) finished with a 39-26 rebounding advantage over UNA (13-9, 5-5), but none were bigger than two offensive boards in the final minute.

“We couldn’t get that rebound at the end that we needed,” coach Bobby Champagne said. “Not to say that we would have scored and won the game, but at least we would have given ourselves a chance. Instead, they get three points out of it and win the game.”

The Argonauts led 70-69 when Marquis Mathis went to the free-throw line for a one-and-one opportunity with 1:03 to play. Mathis missed the free throw, but the Argonauts came up with the offensive rebound.

West Florida then missed a shot, but Mathis tipped the shot in and was fouled by Theron Jenkins. Mathis made the free throw to put the Argonauts up 73-69 with 31.6 seconds remaining.

UNA’s Beaumont Beasley drove to the basket only to see his runner roll off the rim. Mathis then made two free throws with 13.1 seconds left to make it 75-69. The Lions then turned it over on the inbound pass.

“In their offense they’re all bunched together inside, so it’s easy for them to crash the boards,” Jenkins said. “We played well offensively tonight, but defense and rebounding win games and we didn’t do a good job there.”

Jenkins kept the Lions in it, scoring 30 points and grabbing nine rebounds before fouling out on the key rebound by Mathis.

West Florida, which rarely attempts a 3-pointer, shot 56.1 percent for the game. The Argonauts finished with 46 points in the paint compared to 32 for the Lions.

“We have a hard time guarding them,” Champagne said. “Their size really creates some matchup problems for us. Our guys busted their butts tonight and gave great effort, but we knew we would have to outscore them tonight.”

West Florida led 39-35 at halftime. UNA stayed within striking distance and took a 52-51 lead on a trey by Jenkins with 10:22 to play.

The Argonauts rallied to go up 64-58 with 5:40 left. The Lions then pulled within one four different times, the last time when Warrick Mastin rolled in a jumper to cut it to 70-69 with 1:33 remaining. West Florida, however, then got the two key rebounds to close out the win.

“We were so close, but just couldn’t get over the hump,” Champagne said. “We couldn’t string together a stop and a basket when we needed them.”

Beasley added 18 points and Mastin had 10 for UNA. Terrance Beasley led a balanced West Florida attack with 18 points and Mathis had 17.

UNA now must try to steal a win at Valdosta State on Saturday.

“This was a tough loss, but we have to get our minds right and get ready for Valdosta,” Jenkins said. “We can’t afford to come home from this trip without a win.”

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 256-740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@TimesDaily.com.