Tampa Prevails In Battle Between Nationally Ranked Teams

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The No. 25 University of Tampa (13-0, 3-0 SSC) men's basketball team survived its first major road test of the 2010-11 season with a 77-70 victory over No. 23 Eckerd College (11-2, 2-1 SSC) in a Sunshine State Conference matchup.

Anthony Griffis scored 24 points to lead the Spartans within one game of the best start in program history. With 24 points, Griffis put this UT team in elite company as only the 1991-92 team had a better start at 14-0.

Griffis was 8-for-12 from the field and also hit two 3-pointers on four attempts. He also contributed a team-high nine rebounds and one steal in 35 minutes of play.

Head coach Richard Schmidt took his Spartans to the half with a 43-33 advantage as Tampa led by as many as 16 points while grabbing the momentum early in the first half.

UT led for the entire second half and received a brief scare as the Tritons cut the deficit to just one possession at 73-70 with 29-seconds to play in regulation. Tampa's Rashad Callaway put to rest any comeback bid as he connected on 4-of-4 free throws in the final 25-seconds of play.

Callaway finished with 14 points to go with nine assists and a steal. A total of four Spartans scored in double figures with Ashton Graham and Fred Woods scoring 15 and 13 points respectively. Woods also had six blocked shots off the bench.

Tampa shot just under 50 percent from the field as it was 49.1 percent while holding Eckerd to a 37.5 percent clip. The field goal percentage proved to be the difference as UT was outrebounded 47-33. Tampa did force 17 Triton turnovers compared to just 11 for the Spartans.

Tampa remains on the road in its next contest, a Saturday afternoon SSC matchup at Lynn University in Boca Raton. Game time is 2:30 p.m. Live stats and a webcast will be available through www.tampaspartans.com.

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