Richard Schmidt Moves Within One Win of Milestone in Tampa Victory

Box score

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The University of Tampa (1-1) men's basketball team recorded a South Region victory with a 53-48 triumph over Palm Beach Atlantic University (0-2) on Wednesday evening.

The victory moves Tampa head coach Richard Schmidt to 599 as the legendary Spartan leader looks to become the fourth active NCAA Division II coach to reach the milestone. He also ranks 12th among all Division II coaches in wins.

On this night, his Tampa team weathered a close contest and came out ahead in a back-and-forth battle on the road. It took nearly 15 minutes in the first half before either team took a two-possession lead, with PBA taking a 21-16 advantage with 5:11 remaining until the half.

The Spartans would respond with a 7-0 run to take a brief 23-21 lead before the Sailfish evened things up at 23-23, which marked the final basket of the half as the teams entered the break with a deadlock.

The second half carried a strong resemblance to the first until the Spartans claimed a 43-38 lead with 6:31 showing on the clock. Following a PBA free throw, UT's Osby Kelly gave his team its biggest lead of the night with a 3-pointer at 4:49 to give Tampa a 46-39 edge.

Inside one minute remaining, the Spartans missed three free throws that allowed the Sailfish a late opportunity, though a game-tying 3-pointer by Matthew Gierl with 17-seconds remaining did not fall. Following the ensuing foul, Tampa freshman Jon Riles made both free throws to complete the five-point Tampa victory.

Ashton Graham led Tampa with 12 points and eight rebounds, both team highs. Riles added four assists and three steals as all nine Spartans scored. Fellow freshman Terrell Pritchett also added five points, each of which were scored while leading the Spartans in the first half.

Despite being outrebounded 49-38, UT also capitalized on a dismal 1-for-21 effort for PBA from 3-point range. Tampa also forced 17 Sailfish turnovers in the game,

The Spartans return to action on Tuesday as it hosts Florida Memorial at 7:30 p.m., at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center. UT will offer live stats and a webcast through tampaspartans.com.

Fans may also follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans), Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/utathletics). UT also offers blAst, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.