Spartans and Tritons To Meet In Weekend Battle

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa men's and women's basketball teams will be back at home as they host the Eckerd College Tritons Saturday night in the Bob Martinez Athletics Center. The women will enter the game with a 12-9 record and sit at 5-5 in the Sunshine State Conference. The men enter the game at 6-14 and 2-8 in the Sunshine State Conference. This will be the second time that the two programs will meet this season.

The women's team are kicking off the doubleheader against the Eckerd College Tritons. The Tritons enter the game at 11-8 and 6-5 in Sunshine State Conference. In their first meeting of the season, EC defeated UT 66-38. Taylor McVey was the only player in double figures, as she added 10 points on the night.

Going into Saturday's game, the Spartans are led by senior Juliana Cavallaro, who's coming off a stellar 21 point performance at Embry-Riddle on Wednesday.  On the glass, Tampa is led by a duo of seniors Angela Alvarez and Taylor McVey, who are averaging 6.5 and 5.7 rebounds per contest.

The men will conclude the doubleheader with the Tritons at 4:00 pm. Last time out the Spartans fell to the Embry-Riddle University Eagles 59-58, as the final shot from UT fell just off the mark. Pat Bacon led Tampa in scoring as he scored 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Duke Shelton recorded his fourth double-double of the season as the Tampa big man scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

The two teams met earlier this season on December 5th, as the Tritons took the matchup 81-58. EC started this game on a 13-1 run as they never trailed in the game. Bacon led the team that night with 23 points while Marcel Robinson and Austin Rettig added double figures.

Bacon continues to lead the team in scoring as the freshman is averaging 19.5 points per game. He is also second on the team with 3.8 assists per game. Rettig is averaging 15.2 points per game while Robinson is also averaging double digits with 10.4 points per game.

On the boards, Shelton leads the team with 6.6 rebounds per game and ranks fourth in the conference with 1.7 blocks per game. Matt Johnson serves as the catalyst for the offense, as the junior leads the team with 4.9 assists per game. This ranks him fourth in the conference in assists.

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