Richard Schmidt Earns His 600th Career Win in Spartan Victory

Box score

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - University of Tampa head men's basketball coach Richard Schmidt became the fourth active NCAA Division II coach and 12th overall to reach 600 victories as his Spartans defeated the University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon by a 53-44 score.

The game was part of the annual Eckerd Classic, which was a two-day event hosted by Eckerd College at the MacArthur Center.

Tampa led for the entire game, taking a 24-19 advantage to the break. UPRB cut the UT lead to 26-25 as the Spartans responded with a 16-2 run to take a commanding 42-27 lead with 9:44 showing on the clock. The team would hold on to its edge to secure Schmidt's historic victory.

Ashton Graham led Tampa with 15 points as teammates Stefon Barfield and Osby Kelly each added 10 points. Kelly hit arguably the biggest baskets of the game as he connected on consecutive 3-pointers during UT's second-half spurt.

Graham also led all Spartans with seven rebounds as Tampa outrebounded UPRB by a 30-23 margin. Barfield led UT with four assists as Brian Wright earned the start and responded with a team-leading two steals.

Schmidt, in his 29th season at the helm of the Spartans, also spent two years at Vanderbilt University and now stands at 600-284 in his 31 years of coaching.

Tampa will host Rollins College on Wednesday to open Sunshine State Conference play at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Live stats and a video webcast will be available through tampaspartans.tv.

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Richard Schmidt By the Numbers
NCAA Winingest Active Coaches, Division II
By percentage - 26th, .681
By victories - 4th, 600

NCAA Winingest All-time Coaches, Division II
By percentage - 52nd, .681
By victories - 12th, 600

Milestone Victories
600, Nov. 26, 2011, def. Puerto Rico-Bayamon, 53-44
500, Dec. 9, 2005, def. Eckerd, 67-58
400, Jan. 10, 2001, def. St. Leo, 67-65
300, Feb. 20, 1996, def. North Florida, 53-50
200, Jan. 2, 1991, def. St. Ambrose (Iowa), 94-80
100, Jan. 7, 1987, def. St. Joseph's, 85-56