Spartans to Welcome Rollins for SSC Basketball Matchup
TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's and women's basketball programs welcome the Rollins College Tars to the Martinez Center for a couple of Sunshine State Conference matchups.
GAME PROMOTIONS:
The University of Tampa Student-Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) is partnering with Tampa General Hospital for the Operation Santa Donation Drive. They are accepting new/unused toys for children.
Athletic Marketing will also offer Pizza Hut to all UT students as Pepsi will be on location for a live tasting.
WOMEN'S:
The Matchup: University of Tampa Spartans (3-3, 2-0 SSC) vs. Rollins College Tars (6-2, 0-1 SSC)
Date/Time: Saturday, December 7 at 2:00 pm
Location: Bob Martinez Athletics Center | Tampa, Fla. | 400 North Blvd., Tampa, FL 33606
Series History: The Spartans are down in the series, 56-47. Tampa lost the last meeting against Rollins; however, Tampa is 6-4 in the last 10 matchups and has won two of the last three meetings. The Spartans are 24-21 while at home versus the Tars and are 2-2 in the last four meetings in the Martinez Center.
Last Time Out: Kris Nelson finished the game with a team-high 17 points and five assists. She was 6-for-9 from the field and 4-for-7 from 3-point range. LaShayla Wright-Ponder and Melijah Sullivan also finished in double-digits with 13 and 10 points respectively. The team-high in rebounds was six by Wright-Ponder. Dori Nagy led the way with three steals, also pulling down five rebounds while scoring seven. UT shot 48.9 percent from the field as Eckerd was at 47.9.
About the Spartans (Women): After two conference tests so far, Tampa is 2-0 with a combined 129 points scored, averaging 64.5 points a game. The Spartans have four players averaging in the double-digits a game. Wright-Ponder is averaging 16.2, Nagy is right behind her averaging 15, Nelson is averaging 13.7, and Sullivan is averaging 10.2 points a game. Julia Ingram, Nelson, Nagy, and Sullivan are all averaging over 30 minutes a game. Tampa's defense is only allowing 61.8 points a game on 41.9% shooting.
About the Tars (Women): The Tars are 0-1 in the conference after losing to Embry-Riddle on Wednesday night. Rollins is averaging 69.5 points on 41.3% shooting after eight games. Senior guard Jaylyn Harrison is the only player averaging in the double-digits with 12.0 points a game. Their defense is limiting opponents to shoot only 37% from the field and an average of 55.4 points a game.
MEN'S:
The Matchup: University of Tampa Spartans (2-6, 0-2 SSC) vs. Rollins College (4-3, 0-1 SSC)
Date/Time: Saturday, December 7 at 4:00 pm.
Location: Bob Martinez Athletics Center | Tampa, Fla. | 400 North Blvd., Tampa, FL 33606
Series History: Tampa leads the overall series 67-36, and has a home record of 42-14. The Spartans are on a three game win streak against Rollins. In the last ten meetings Tampa is 6-4.
Last Time Out: The Spartans fell to Eckerd 63-61at the Bob Martinez Center. With 29 points, Pat Bacon became the 10th leading scoring in Tampa Men's Basketball history recording 1,442 points career, passing Chris Evans' 1,419. Two Spartans finished in double-figures: Bacon (29) and Derrick Felder (11).
About the Spartans (Men): After two conference contests, the men have scored a combined 138 points, averaging 69 points and a field goal percentage of 41.4%. The Spartans have three players averaging in the double-digits. Bacon leads the way with 22.6 points per game. Junior guard Jonathan Bryant II averages 15.4 points per game and senior Vincent Biffle averages 10.7 per game. Both Martin Lakovic and Felder lead the team in rebounds, averaging around six per game. Lakovic, Felder, Biffle, and Bacon are all averaging over 30 minutes per game.
About the Tars (Men): The Tars are averaging around 80.1 points per game after seven games. Rollins is shooting 47.2% from the field, and 38.6% from 3-point land. The Tars have three players averaging in the double-digits. Jakobi Bonner leads the team with 17.7 points per game. Senior guard Connor Mckim averages 3.5 assists per game, which is a team high.
Tickets: General admission ticket prices for all Tampa regular season athletic events are $5. Youth (ages 12 and under) are admitted free of charge. UT students and faculty/staff are admitted free with a valid Spartan ID.
Watch Live: Fans may watch the game through TampaSpartans.tv. Live stats are available through TampaStats.com.
Follow UT Athletics: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.
Text Alerts: UT also offers a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.
Front Row: Download the official app of UT Athletics on the Apple or Android store. Look for Tampa Spartans Front Row app to receive notifications from your favorite Spartan teams. The app is completely free.