Spartans Lose Another Close One

Melbourne, Fl. – The University of Tampa Spartans Men's Basketball team continues to lose to struggle in the clutch, falling short to Florida Tech in a frustrating fashion.

Final: Florida Tech Panthers 65, Tampa Spartans 59

Records: Tampa (1-5, 1-1 SSC), Florida Tech (6-1, 2-0 SSC)

Location: Charles and Ruth Clemente Center || Melbourne, Fl.

All-Time Series: The Panthers snap the Spartans 2 game winning streak over Florida Tech. Tampa still holds a dominating record over FIT at 58-30.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

The Spartans had a slow start to the game with the Panthers going on a 6-0 run to start the game. After some back-and-forth basketball, Tampa tied it 9-9 after a jumper by Jacob Harris with 14 minutes left in the first half. After made shots from both teams, the Panthers maneuvered their way back to a 6-point lead. The Spartans quickly responded with a 7-0 run for themselves to take an 18-17 lead with a little over 5:00 minutes remaining. After seeing the Spartans go on a 7-0 run the Panthers responded with one of their own. The Spartans ended up trailing by 4 going into the half. || Score: 26-22 Panthers

SECOND HALF

When the second half started neither team was pulling away, shot after shot was going in. Finally, after 7 minutes of Florida Tech leading the Spartans tied it at 32 after two made free throws from Jonathan Bryant II, and then took a 33-32 lead after one more free throw from Bryant Brown. The Panthers made a 3-pointer the following possession and kept a reasonable lead. They were up 52-42 with 6 minutes left; however, the Spartans went on a 7-0 run and cut the Panther's lead to 3, with a score of 52-49. The Spartans couldn't get over the hump and come up short. || Score: 65-59 Panthers

INSIDE THE STATS

• Four Spartans scored double digits tonight: Sophomore De'Andre Harvey (12), Senior Jonathan Bryant II (12), Graduate Yarden Willis (11), & Junior Jacob Harris (10).
• The Spartans had 17 turnovers compared to the Panther's 5.
• Both Yarden Willis (11 pts. & 15 rebs.) and Jonathan Bryant II (12 pts. & 10 rebs.) recorded double-doubles.

BEYOND THE BOX

• The Spartans led for only 53 seconds the whole game.
• Tampa led 24-2 in bench points while Florida Tech led 42-26 in points in the paint.
• There were 2 ties and 4 lead changes throughout the whole game.

UP NEXT: Tampa will keep its heads up as they host the top SSC team and #17 Embry-Riddle on Saturday, December 3, @ 4:00 PM.

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