Tampa Knocks Off League’s Top Team, #21 Rollins

Box score

WINTER PARK, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's basketball team picked up a big Sunshine State Conference, defeating 21st-ranked Rollins by a score of 67-60. The Spartans are now 13-11 on the season and 5-7 in the SSC with the victory. The Tars drop to 18-4 overall and 9-2 in league play, with both SSC losses coming to Tampa.

The Spartans scored the game's first six points and never trailed while leading by as many as 14 points in the first half. It took UT less than five minutes to stretch its advantage to double figures, as the Spartans led 17-7 with 15:17 remaining in the half.

A pair of Chris King free throws gave UT a 34-20 lead before Rollins' Johnny Reibel connected on a three-pointer 59-seconds before halftime. The Spartans then took a 34-23 lead to the half.

The second half was more of the same as Tampa once again scored the first six points of the half to take a commanding 40-23 lead, which was its largest of the game. The Tars mounted a late rally, going on a 10-0 run to cut the Spartan lead to just one at 56-55 with 4:17 on the clock. Jeff James responded with a basket and following a Rollins hoop, UT's Jeffrey Moore connected on a three-pointer with 1:15 remaining to give the Spartans a 61-57 lead.

The Spartans held the lead while making 6-6 free throw attempts with inside a minute remaining. Matt Pezzullo hit four of the free-throws while Chris Evans also added a pair.

Chris King led a group of four Spartans in double figures with a team-high 20 points. Chris Evans notched a double-double as he scored 18 points 10 rebounds to lead UT on the boards. Moore and James also contributed 10 apiece for Tampa.

The game featured solid shooting by both teams as Tampa shot 42.9 percent from the field with the Tars at a 40.4 clip. The Spartans also shot a season-best 88.2 percent at the free-throw line, connecting on 15-17 shots from the charity stripe.

UT is off for the remainder of the week and focused on a Wednesday, Feb., 14 showdown with Florida Southern. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. at UT's Bob Martinez Sports Center.