Tampa Sneaks Past Lynn

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The first overtime game of the season was a success as The University of Tampa men's basketball team as it picked up a huge Sunshine State Conference road victory with a 79-74 win over Lynn University. Tampa improves to 13-4 and 6-2 in the SSC while Lynn falls to 11-7 and 4-3 in league play.

Tampa came out of the gates strong, taking a quick 13-1 lead at 15:34. Lynn slowly chipped away at the UT advantage, eventually tying the game at 19-19 with 8:39 remaining in the first half. That was part of what would be a 10-0 Lynn run that gave the Fighting Knights a 24-19 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the half.

After Lynn took a 28-22 lead, the Spartans closed out the first half on a 14-6 run to take a 36-34 lead to halftime.

The Spartans maintained their slight edge in the second half, where it took a comfortable 52-45 lead on a Johnathan Ball three pointer with 11:32 remaining in regulation. Lynn fought back to within one, at 52-51 with 9:22 remaining before Tampa answered with a 7-1 run to take a 59-52 lead with just under eight minutes remaining.

The Fighting Knights continued to make the game close as they cut the UT lead to 67-65 with 26 seconds remaining. Lynn then fouled Ball, who kept it a one possession game as he missed both shots.

Following a Lynn timeout, UT's Chris King was called for a loose ball foul that put Lynn's Ed Millard on the line. After making the front end of a one-and-one, Millard missed the second. Chris Evans was then fouled and missed both to keep the game at 67-66.

With the ball and under 10 seconds remaining, UT's Rashad Callaway was called for a foul on Randy Jones. After missing the first shot, Jones made the second to send the game to overtime at 67-67.

In the extra period, Ball gave Tampa a 71-69 lead with 2:36 on the clock. The Spartans, who played the majority of the overtime period without starters Chris King and Callaway, allowed the Fighting Knights to take their first lead of overtime on a three pointer with 2:13 remaining.

Tampa went back on top on a pair of free throws by Evans with 1:15 on the clock as UT took the 73-72 lead. That was followed by a Lynn offensive foul, which allowed Ball to give UT a 75-72 lead. Lynn had the next opportunity as it was fouled on a three pointer as Jones made two of three to cut the Tampa lead to 75-74 with 20 seconds on the clock.

The UT inbound pass resulted in a foul against Mounir Benzegala. The point guard made both free throws to give the Spartans a 77-74 edge. After a Lynn timeout, the Fighting Knights missed a three point shot with seven seconds remaining and were forced to foul again. Jeremy Black was then fouled and proceeded to put the game out of reach with a pair of free throws.

Evans led Tampa with a team high 18 points while Callaway matched his career high with 17. Ball and Jeremy Black were also in double figures with 15 and 13 points respectively. Evans also led UT with nine rebounds and three blocks. King led Tampa with five assists while Black, Callaway and Evans each had a pair of steals.

UT now heads home, where it will host Rollins College on Saturday at 4 p.m.