UT Set to Host Tampa Classic with Special Offer for Fans

TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 22 University of Tampa men's basketball team will return to action following a brief break in the four-team Tampa Classic on Saturday and Sunday at the Martinez Center.

University of Tampa athletic director Larry Marfise has announced that fans will be admitted free with a canned food item. UT will then donate all items to local charities.

The four-team classic will include Tampa and Eckerd College from the Sunshine State Conference along with a pair of Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) opponents in Miles College and Paine College. The field features four NCAA South Region schools, which will aid in the important regional record for NCAA tournament consideration.

Saturday will begin with Eckerd and Paine at 2 p.m., followed by a matchup between the home court Spartans and Miles at 4 p.m. Eckerd and Miles will play on Sunday at 2 p.m., as UT and Paine meet in Sunday's 4 p.m., contest.

Tampa is off to a perfect 10-0 start as nine of its 10 victories are over NCAA Division II opponents. The duo of Da'Markco Foster and Anthony Griffis leads head coach Richard Schmidt's squad with 19.5 and 14.5 points per game respectively. The Spartans are also shooting an astounding .413 from 3-point range.

Miles, who will meet UT on Saturday, enters with a 3-3 overall record and has won two of its last three contests. The Golden Bears are coming off a 57-50 win over Delta State and also owns a regional win over West Georgia. Carlos Clayborn leads Miles with 11.3 points per game.

Paine is 2-2 on the year with wins over Allen and West Georgia. The Lions last contest resulted in a 77-67 setback against South Carolina-Aiken. The duo of Mario Jordan and Jerel Stephenson is averaging 17.0 points per game as Stephenson is also the team's top rebounder at 8.5 per contest.

Eckerd sports a 4-2 showing as its last game before break was a 97-69 win over Tuskegee. The Tritons have three players averaging double figures as Alex Bodney leads the squad with 12.3 per game. Darrien Mack and Jerrick Stevenson contribute 11.5 and 11.2 respectively.

UT won the only meeting against Miles, defeating the Golden Bears by an 80-57 score in 2000. Tampa and Paine will meet on Sunday for the first time.

Tickets are available at the gate for $5. Children 12-and-under will be admitted free. UT faculty, staff and students are admitted free when displaying a valid Spartan ID card. Fans will also have the opportunity to gain free admission with a canned food donation at the gate.

UT will offer live stats and a video webcast for both Spartan games through TampaSpartans.tv. Tampa will also run live stats for all games, which may be accessed through TampaSpartans.com.

Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans), Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans), YouTube (youtube.com/utathletics) and Instragram (tampaspartans). 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.

Saturday, Dec. 29
Eckerd vs. Paine, 2 p.m.
No. 22 Tampa vs. Miles, 4 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 30
Eckerd vs. Miles, 2 p.m.
No. 22 Tampa vs. Paine, 4 p.m.