South Florida Deals Tampa Exhibition Defeat

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's basketball team showed spurts of excitement but fell by a 75-43 score to cross-town opponent University of South Florida in an exhibition contest at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center.

The Bulls led for the entire game, taking a 22-4 advantage before the Spartans settled down to play even for the remainder of the first half. The Bulls shot at a 62.5 percent clip in the opening half as the Spartans were limited to just 37.0.

The youthful Tampa squad used 14 players in the second half as forwards Ted Amendola and Stefon Barfield chipped in eight and seven points respectively. UT was once again hindered by its shooting, connecting on just five field goals at a 20.8 percent mark while USF was just under 50 percent.

Barfield joined teammate Ashton Graham as head coach Richard Schmidt's leading scorers as the duo scored 11 points apiece. Barfield also led all Spartans with seven rebounds in 34 minutes of play.

Graham also led Tampa with a team-high four assists as freshman point guard Jon Riles had two in his first game as a Spartan.

Tampa finished with seven 3-pointers, as it shot better from beyond the arc (36.8) than within (29.4). Both teams were lethargic from the free throw line, with USF shooting just 46.9 percent from the charity stripe while UT was 54.5.

UT will open the 2011-12 season on Monday, Nov. 14, at home against Southeastern University. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., at the Martinez Center. Live stats and a webcast will be available through www.tampaspartans.tv.

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