Tampa Tops Saint Leo For Fourth Straight Win

ST LEO, Fla. – The University of Tampa Spartans finish off an impressive win against conference opponent Saint Leo Lions.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

Final Score: University of Tampa Spartans 88, Saint Leo University Lions 80

Records: Tampa 8-3 (4-2 SSC), Saint Leo 5-8 (1-5 SSC)

Location: Marion Bowman Center | St Leo, Fla.

All-Time Series: This was the 86th matchup between these two teams -- Tampa now leads the all-time series 62-24.

HOW IT HAPPENED

1st HALF

Tyson Leitao would get the Spartans on the board as he drove to the basket and finished off with a contested layup on the right side of the paint. Both teams would start off slow, however, a Martin Lakovic dunk off of a fast break would put the Spartans to within one of the Lions with 15 minutes left in the half as the score would be tallied 7-6. Tampa would go on an impressive shooting spree for the next seven minutes, going on a 19-7 run that would make the score 25-14, Saint Leo would then take a timeout with eight minutes remaining in the half. The Lions would attempt to make a comeback push following the timeout, as they narrowed the deficit to five with two minutes left in the half. The Lions would switch to a 2-3 zone defense in an effort to disrupt the Spartan's offense, but it would not contain the Tampa offense heading into halftime. Score: 45-33 Tampa

2nd HALF

Tampa would have a slow start, as Saint Leo went on a 6-0 run within the first two minutes of the half. An early timeout by head coach Richard Schmidt would prove to be beneficial as Tampa would go on a 20-8 run  The Spartans would stay in their man to man defense the majority of the game, which would prove to be effective, as both teams would go back and forth exchanging shots between each other, it would be halfway towards the end of the game, before Saint Leo would rally back with the lead coming to light for them. The Lions would outscore the Spartans until late in the game as they would cut the lead to five with two minutes left, the score would be 80-75. Saint Leo would go on a 5-4 run to make it 84-80. Nonetheless, Max Jones would claim two of his 18 points from the free-throw line to ice the game for the Spartans, with a dunk from Bryan Williams to put an exclamation mark on the Spartans win. Score: 88-80 Tampa

INSIDE THE STATS

• Williams would lead the Spartans in scoring with 19.

• Four players would hit double digits for the Spartans, Williams (19), Jones (18), Jonathan Bryant II (14) and Leitao (13). 

• Tampa's bench would outscored Saint Leo's 30-8.

BEYOND THE BOX

• This win makes it four in a row for the Spartans.

NEXT UP: The Spartans will head to Melbourne, Florida to take on the Florida Tech Panthers in a conference matchup. The game will take place this Saturday, January 8 at 4:00 P.M.

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