Spartans Break Out of Slump in Huge Upset of SSC Frontrunner Rollins

Box score

WINTER PARK, Fla. - The University of Tampa (5-15, 1-9 SSC) men's basketball team picked up its first Sunshine State Conference victory in impressive fashion with a 98-88 road victory over Rollins College (14-6, 7-3 SSC) on Wednesday evening.

After falling to the Tars by a 60-36 score in the initial meeting on Nov. 30, the hot-shooting Spartans played a complete game in the win over the top team in the SSC.

UT shot 53.8 percent from the field, including a season-high 16 from beyond the arc while hitting 53.3 percent of its 3-pointers. The 98 points also represented a season-high for the Spartans, who were previously averaging 54.7 points per contest.

It was a career night for both Ashton Graham and Callum Townsend, both of whom set new personal bests with 30 and 26 points respectively. Both players connected on six 3-pointers while Townsend was 6-for-9 from long-range.

Stefon Barfield added 17 points while freshman Jon Riles was also in double figures with 10. Townsend also nearly missed a double-double as he grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Barfield finished with five assists and two blocked shots as Graham tallied a pair of steals.

Tampa will next play host to SSC opponent Barry University on Saturday at 2 p.m., from the Bob Martinez Athletics Center. UT will offer live stats and a video webcast through TampaSpartans.tv.

Fans may also follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers blAst, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.