Spartans Come Up Short In Attempt For Richard Schmidt’s 600th Win

Box score

TAMPA, Fla. - In a bid for the 600th career coaching victory for head coach Richard Schmidt, the University of Tampa (1-2) men's basketball team was unable to hold a late lead as Florida Memorial University (3-2) outlasted UT for a 53-50 win on Tuesday at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center.

Ashton Graham led the Spartans with nine first-half points as UT capitalized on 10 FMU turnovers. The Lions took a 26-24 lead to the half after connecting on four 3-pointers and outrebounding the Spartans by a 21-15 margin.

UT would take its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by freshman Jon Riles with 17:09 remaining in regulation. The freshman point guards basket marked the start of a 10-0 Tampa run as it took a 36-28 advantage with just over 13 minutes left in the contest.

The Spartans would hold on to its lead until FMU went on a 9-0 run of its own to erase an eight-point Spartan edge and take a 48-47 lead with 2:20 showing on the clock. The teams would trade leads on the ensuing possessions before the Lions pulled ahead 52-49 on a pair of free throws with 44-seconds left. Tampa proceeded to go 0-for-4 from the field on the following possessions, including three game-tying shots.

Graham finished with a game-high 17 points as he also led the Spartans with eight rebounds. Osby Kelly added 13 points while Brian Wright provided a spark off the bench with a team-high three assists and a block.

Tampa returns to action on Friday as it plays a pair of games at the Eckerd Classic in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Spartans will meet Shaw on Friday and conclude the tourney versus Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Saturday. Both games are slated for 5:30 p.m. Live stats will be available through tampaspartans.com.

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