Tampa Unable to Hang With Shaw

Box score

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Head coach Richard Schmidt's quest for his 600th career victory will have to wait for another day as the University of Tampa (1-3) men's basketball team suffered a 70-50 setback to Shaw University (3-1). The game was part of the Eckerd Classic.

Tampa enjoyed early success as it took an 8-1 lead just over three minutes into the game. Shaw would battle back as it broke a 21-21 tie at the 7:01 mark of the first half with an 18-4 run to close out the half. The Bears would hit the locker room with a 39-25 advantage as it outrebounded UT 18-8 in the opening half.

UT was unable to mount a rally in the second half as Shaw would shoot 54.5 percent from the field, though it only outrebounded Schmidt's squad by a 15-14 margin.

A total of 13 Spartans saw playing time, with 11 scoring at least one point. Osby Kelly and Stefon Barfield led Tampa with nine points apiece as Ashton Graham grabbed a team-high four rebounds. Jon Riles turned in three assists as Kelly tallied a pair of steals to lead the team.

Shaw shot a whopping 59.6 percent from the field, compared to a 40 percent mark for UT. The Spartans did connect on six 3-pointers, with Kelly draining three from long-range.

The Spartans will meet the University of Puerto Rico in Bayamon on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The game will mark the final contest for each team in the Eckerd Classic. Live stats will be available through tampaspartans.com.

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