Spartans Power Past Hilo to Finish Hoops in Hawaii Classic

Final: Tampa Spartans 92, Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans 80
Records: Tampa (5-6), Hawaii-Hilo (3-7)
Location: Hawaii Convention Center | Honolulu, Hawaii
All-time Series: first meeting
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1st Half | The Vulcans would score the first eight points of the contest and hold the lead until a pair of Marcel Robinson 3-pointers gave Tampa a 27-25 lead with 6:40 to play until halftime. Tampa would carry the lead for the remainder of the half, leading by as many as 10 points. Robinson would lead the way with 15 first-half points while Pat Bacon added 11. 

2nd Half | Hawaii-Hilo would draw even with the Spartans, who proved to be too much for the home-state team. The Spartans would shoot 60 percent from the field in the half, also connecting on 16-of-17 from the free throw line.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Bacon led all scorers with 28 points. He was 12-for-13 from the free throw line and led the team with four assists.
• Robinson added 22 while Duke Shelton notched 20 for Tampa.
• Shelton led Tampa with nine rebounds.
• In his first start of the season, junior Anthony Gamble had a team-high three steals.

BEYOND THE BOX:

• This marks the fourth game in school history for the Spartans in the state of Hawaii. Prior to Sunday's game, the first two came during the 2007-08 season when UT split a pair of games. The Spartans fell to BYU-Hawaii before defeating Hawaii Pacific in 2017.
• A pair of Spartans are nearing the 1,000 career point milestone as senior Robinson sits at 992 while junior Bacon has 985.
• In addition to Gamble, Monday's game was also the first startn for Mekhi Biffle and Alberto Moreno.

UP NEXT:
Tampa will take a break and return to action in Sunshine State Conference action on Saturday, December 30 at Embry-Riddle. Gametime is slated for 6 p.m., in Daytona Beach, Fla. Live stats and video ($) will be available through TampaSpartans.com.

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