Spartans Suffer Loss In Double Overtime Thriller

Box score

LAKELAND, Fla.-The University of Tampa men's basketball team fell to No.2 Florida Southern College Wednesday night 87-83 in a hard fought double overtime game.

The Spartans are now 11-5 overall and 4-3 in SSC play, while the Mocs stay undefeated at 18-0 on the season and 7-0 in the conference.

Tampa dug a hole early in the game, trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half. However, the Spartans showed fight in the hostile environment by closing the deficit to 10 at halftime, 31-41.

Vincent Cornu led the Spartans with 11 points and 6 rebounds at the half shooting a perfect five-of-five from the field. Cornu finished the game recording a double-double with a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds.

The Spartans looked to be in trouble as they trailed by 15 in the second half, however, freshman point guard Matt Johnson converted a big three-point basket to spark a 19-6 run over a 10 minute span. With six minutes left in the game senior Ryan Kidd put back his own miss to tie the game at 60 apiece.

With two minutes left in the contest, an Eric Moraes layup gave the Spartans their first lead since early in the game off a well executed play orchestrated by junior guard Jordan Davis. With a minute left to go Tampa led 68-66, after two Johnson free throws. The Mocs had an answer as Lamar McKnight knocked down a baseline jumper to send the game into overtime.

In the first minute and a half of overtime Tampa jumped out to a six point lead led by two Cornu layups. However, the Mocs again had an answer going on a 6-0 run of their own to send the game into a second overtime.

The two teams took turns scoring in the second overtime leaving the game knotted up at 79-79 with a minute and 20 seconds left to play. Florida Southern continued to knock down free throws and force Tampa into tough contested shots. As the Mocs made free throws when it mattered most, a late three-point basket by Kidd with three seconds remaining was not enough to pull off the upset.

Five other Spartans scored in double figures; Moraes contributed 14 points, Davis added 12 points and nine assists, while Johnson and Kidd recorded 11 and 10 points respectively. Fred Lewis registered 10 points.

Tampa will host Nova Southeastern at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center this Saturday afternoon. The Spartans have a slight 15-11 lead in the all-time series against the Sharks.

Tickets are available at the gate for $5. Children 12-and-under will be admitted free. UT faculty, staff and students are admitted free when displaying a valid Spartan ID card.

UT will offer live stats and a webcast for the match through TampaSpartans.tv.

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