Spartans Barry the Bucs in Road Game Thriller

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's basketball team traveled to Miami Shores to take on the Barry University Buccaneers and came out victorious.  

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Tampa 86, Barry 76
Records: Tampa (15-9, 8-6 SSC), Barry (19-4, 12-4 SSC)
Location: Health & Sports Center | Miami Shores, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa leads the all time series 42-24 over the Bucs. 
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HOW IT HAPPENED:

 
1st Half |  Junior Duke Shelton was the first player on the floor to score on a layup assisted by sophomore Freddy Ibrahim. The Bucs retaliated with a layup and a three pointer to start the first half. Junior Marcel Robinson recorded his first points shortly thereafter on a jumper. The Bucs and the Spartans were playing basket-for-basket, neither team pulling away. Senior Austin Rettig got on the board after a deep three point shot. After three minutes of no baskets from either team, sophomore Pat Bacon tallied his first points of the game on a jumper. Robinson began to heat up for the Spartans as he made back-to-back baskets, a jumper followed by a three point shot. But the Bucs offense did not slow down as both teams traded leads throughout the middle of the first half. The Spartans took the largest lead of the half after two jumpers from Shelton and a three pointer from Rettig, making the score 31-23 with six minutes left in the first half. Freshman Mekhi Biffle came off the bench to tally his first points after a steal and a jumper.   

2nd Half |  The Spartans offense came out energized after halftime as Rettig scored the first basket on a jumper followed by back-to-back three pointers from Robinson, both assisted by Ibrahim. Barry began to warm back up as they scored baskets and cut into the Spartans 10 point lead. After four unanswered points from the Bucs, they cut the Spartans lead to five points. UT made a momentus run that would put them up by 10 points again but the Bucs rallied back and tied the game after an offensive run with only four minutes left in the game. The game was tied up with three and a half minutes left, then Robinson sunk a momentum-changing three pointer assisted by Bacon. Rettig got in on the late action after sinking a jumper that put the Spartans up by five. After a series of fouls on the Bucs, the Spartans solidified the win at 86-76.   

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Robinson led all Spartans with 32 points, 18 of those points from three pointers.  
• Shelton tallied a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
• Rettig put up 17 points, two assists, and one steal. 
• As a team, the Spartans shot 61.1 percent from field. 
• Ibrahim had a team high seven assists.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Shelton recorded his 12th double-double of the season.
• Robinson was just two points shy of a new career high. 
• The Spartans have now swept the No. 10 ranked Buccaneers in conference play.

UP NEXT:

Tampa returns to action on Wednesday when they host Florida Southern at 7:30 p.m. Live stats will be available through TampaStats.com. Fans can watch through TampaSpartans.com.

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