Spartans Snap Losing Skid at Florida Southern

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's basketball team took on conference foe Florida Southern and came out victorious winning 80-70. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Tampa 80, Florida Southern 70
Records: Tampa (10-3, 3-1 SSC), Florida Southern (4-9, 2-3 SSC)
Location: Jenkins Field House | Lakeland, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa trails the all-time series with Florida Southern with a record of 51-85.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1st Half | Sophomore Freddy Ibrahim was the first player on the floor to score with a jumper. The Mocs quickly retaliated with a three-point jumper that sparked their offense as they went on a 13-0 point run. An impressive dunk by senior Austin Rettig would end the Spartans dry spell and decrease the Mocs lead to nine points. However, the Mocs momentum was not stifled as they increased their lead to 17 points in two minutes. Senior Matt Johnson hit a three point jumper from deep in the court to cut the lead to 14 points. The Spartans and the Mocs traded baskets through the majority of the half, while Florida Southern kept UT at a distance. The Spartan offense was finally sparked after a pair of layups from freshman Alberto Moreno and junior Marcel Robinson. These baskets were closely followed by a deep three point jumper from Rettig that would decrease the Mocs lead to three points. The half ended with a layup from Johnson that would cut the Mocs advantage to one point heading into halftime.

2nd Half | Robinson scored first on a jumper to open up the second half that gave UT their only lead of the game. Ibrahim scored on a layup that was then followed by a three point jumper from freshman Mekhi Biffle that put the Spartans up by six. Two layups by junior Duke Shelton and a layup by Biffle would put UT up by 10 points, their greatest lead of the game. The Spartans continued their offensive efforts as they consistently led by at least seven for the majority of the second half. The Mocs began to close in on the Spartans lead, as they made the score 70-64 with just under a minute left in the game. However, the Mocs could not stop the play of the Spartans as they won 80-70.  

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Shelton led all Spartans with 18 points and 10 rebounds, recording a double-double. 
• Johnson was the second leading point scorer with 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists. 

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• This win by the Spartans snaps the 11 season losing streak at Jenkins Field House for the Spartans.
• This win for the Spartans is the first win against the Mocs since the 2013-2014 season. 

UP NEXT:

Tampa returns to action on Wednesday, January 4th when they travel to Rollins for a 7:30 p.m. matchup. Live stats will be available through TampaStats.com.

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