Spartans Set to Host Lions

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa men's and women's basketball teams will host the Saint Leo Lions on Saturday. The women will compete at 2:00 pm and the men will have their matchup at 4:00 pm.  

The Matchup (Men's): University of Tampa (11-3, 4-1 SSC) vs. Saint Leo (7-7, 2-3 SSC)

The Matchup (Women's): University of Tampa (9-3, 4-1 SSC) vs. Saint Leo (5-7, 0-5 SSC)

Date/Time (Women's): Saturday, January 7 at 2:00 pm. 

Date/Time (Men's): Saturday, January 7 at 4:00 pm.

Location: Bob Martinez Athletics Center | Tampa, Fla.

Last Time Out (Women's): The Spartans travelled to Winter Park to take on the Rollins College Tars and defeated them in a well fought battle. The first half of play was back and forth, both teams trading leads consistently. Senior Elena de Alfredo led the Spartans in points in the first quarter as she tallied eight and junior Morgan Lumb led the Spartans in points for the second quarter where she recorded nine points. Coming out of halftime, junior Karma Jeremie took charge and was the first player to score with a layup. Halftime energized the Spartans as they kept the Tars scoreless for the first four minutes of the third quarter and went on an 11-0 run. However, the Tars did not back down so easily as they started to close in on the Spartan advantage. Rollins came within four points of the Spartans late in the third quarter and headed into the final quarter with a score of 51-47. The Tars made a final effort to close in on the Spartans but were unsuccessful. The Spartans went on to win the game with a score of 75-62. As a team, the Spartans shot 46.3 percent from the field compared to the Tars 41 percent. de Alfredo was the leading point scorer for the Spartans, tallying 18 points, six rebounds, and two assists. The second leading point scorers for the game were Jeremie and Lump, both with 15 points. 

Last Time Out (Men's): The Spartans took down the Tars of Rollins College in their mid-week matchup in Winter Park. Much like the women's games the Spartans and the Tars traded points going basket-for-basket to open up play. The Tars jumped out to a quick lead in the first half keeping the Spartans scoreless for four minutes until freshman Mekhi Biffle sunk a deep three-point shot that brought the Spartans within two points of the Tars. Then the game was quickly tied by junior Duke Shelton on a layup. Freshman Brent Duncan came off the bench and made an impact when he scored on a layup and assisted a momentum-changing dunk by junior Marcel Robinson. However, this was not enough for the Spartans to take off with the lead, as the Tars continued to battle. The teams continued trading leads until back-to-back three pointers from Robinson and Biffle sparked the offense and UT took the largest lead of the half, 10 points. The Spartans led heading into half time, but momentum quickly changed once the second half started. The Tars offense started flowing and they stayed within seven points, never letting the Spartans get too far away. The Spartans continued to score and despite efforts by the Tars to come back, UT held on for the 81-73 win. Robinson was unstoppable in the matchup as he set a new career high, with 33 points. The second leading point scorer was Biffle with 14 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. As a team, the Spartans shot 46.8 percent from the field and tallied 36 rebounds and 17 assists.

About the Spartans (Women's): The Spartans are led offensively by senior de Alfredo who is second in the SSC for points per game with 15.8. She is followed by junior Jeremie and Faith Sanders with 12.8 and 11.6, respectively. As a team, the Spartans are averaging 67.5 points per game and have a 48.7 field goal percentage.

About the Spartans (Men's): UT is led offensively by sophomore Pat Bacon, tallying 15.1 points per game. He is followed by junior Duke Shelton and junior Marcel Robinson with 14.6 and 12.9, respectively. Shelton sits in second place in the SSC for rebounds with 9.8 per game and in second place for blocked shots with 1.4 per game. As a team, the Spartans are second in conference for field goal percentage with 49 percent and second in conference for defensive rebounds with 26.4 per game.

About the Lions (Women's): Chelsy Springs leads the Lions and the SSC with 197 points averaging 16.4 per game. She is followed by Mary Redmond who, is averaging 13.8 points per game. As a team, the Lions are averaging 72.1 points per game, 37.3 rebounds per game, and shooting 40.2 percent from the field. 

About the Lions (Men's): The Saint Leo Lions are led offensively by Marcus Drewberry Justin Satchell who are averaging 19.1 and 17.2 points per game, respectively. As a team, Saint Leo is shooting 46.6 percent from the field and collecting 39.7 rebounds per game. The Dragons are averaging 7.2 steals per game and 2.7 blocks per game.

Series History (Women's): The Spartans lead the all-time series record over the Lions with a 76-16 record. 

Series History (Men's): The Spartans trail the all-time series record with the Lions with a 58-17 record.

Tickets: Tickets for are $5 for adults, senior citizens and coaches. Children under 12 will be admitted free. UT students, faculty and staff will be admitted free with a valid student ID.

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