Career Day by Chris Evans and Game Winner by Rashad Callaway Sting #22 Florida Southern
TAMPA, Fla. - Rashad Callaway gave Tampa a 68-66 victory over #22 and Sunshine State Conference rival Florida Southern College with a jumpshot with two seconds remaining. The Spartans move to 11-4 on the year and 5-2 in the SSC with the victory while the Mocs drop to 14-5 and 5-2 in league play.
Tampa maintained a slim lead throughout the first half, where it took a 32-31 lead to the half. The Moccasins came out in the second half on an 11-5 run as they took a seven point lead with 16:08 remaining.
Florida Southern kept the lead until the 5:45 mark when Johnathan Ball gave the Spartans a 58-56 lead. The Mocs proceeded to score the next five points before Chris Evans tied the game at 61-61 with 3:39 on the clock.
UT then scored the next five points to take a comfortable 66-61 lead. A turnover and a foul for Tampa allowed Florida Southern to tie the game on a Rob Eldridge three-pointer before Rashad Callaway held the ball for the last shot of the game, which was converted via a top of the key jump shot.
Evans enjoyed a career night for UT, where he set a new school record with nine blocked shots. Evans also registered team highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds while he connected on 5-7 three-pointers. He also led UT with three steals in 39 minutes of play.
Ball added 20 points for Tampa as he also matched Jeremy Black and Chris King for team honors with three assists.
UT edged the Moccasins by a slim field goal percentage margin, 40.7 to 38.3. While each team connected on seven long-range shots, Tampa presented an all-around edge that also included 20 points in the paint.
The Spartans are back in action on Saturday as they entertain Palm Beach Atlantic at 4 p.m., in a non-conference game. The Sailfish will enter the contest with a record of 2-17, with their victories coming over Texas A&M-Commerce and Montevallo. The Sailfish have dropped six straight games since topping Montevallo on December 29.