Eckerd Completes Late Comeback to Stun No. 20 Tampa

Box score

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The No. 20 University of Tampa (12-2, 0-2 SSC) men's basketball team dropped its second straight contest on a late comeback by Eckerd College (7-3, 1-2 SSC) that resulted in a 73-70 Triton victory in the Sunshine State Conference matchup.

Tampa led by as many as 14 points in the first half before going to halftime with a 41-36 lead. The Spartans would allow the Tritons to take a brief 50-49 edge with 13:42 to play, before head coach Richard Schmidt's squad regained control.

With a 67-57 lead and 6:56 remaining in regulation, the Spartans would allow Eckerd to creep back into the game and eventually grab a 71-70 lead with 34 seconds remaining. Tampa had a pair of chances to tie the game or take the lead, but was unable to connect on a 3-pointer and also had a turnover.

The duo of Anthony Griffis and Da'Markco Foster shined again as they accounted for 45 combined points. Griffis tallied 23 on 9-of-14 shooting with Foster turned in 22. Vincent Cornu also added 10 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds for the Spartans in his second double-double of the season. Foster also led all Spartans with four assists and three steals.

Eckerd shot 48.8 percent from the field as the Spartans had a 42.4 clip. UT also committed a season-low five turnovers.

The Spartans will look to get back to their winning ways when they travel to Lynn University on Saturday for a 4 p.m., contest with the Fighting Knights. Live stats and a webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.com.

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