Spartans Defeated By The Bulls

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's basketball team dropped their lone exhibition match of the season on Tuesday night when they traveled to the cross-town rival, University of South Florida. 

Final: South Florida 80, Tampa 52

Records: University of Tampa Spartans (0-0, SSC 0-0), University of South Florida Bulls (0-0, AAC 0-0)

Location: Yuengling Center | Tampa, Fla.

All-time Series: Tampa trails within the all-time series with the Bulls 3-2.

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HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Half | Tampa's first basket of the game came from a three-point jumper made by senior Pat Bacon with the assist from Alberto Moreno. Two more threes were cashed in by both Anthony Gamble and Moreno. As a team, they shot 6-12 from the three-point line resulting in a decent percentage of 50.0. Bacon led the team in scoring with 10 points in the first half. On the defensive side, the Spartans came out strong forcing the Bulls to commit 12 turnovers and multiple offensive fouls. Vincent Biffle recorded six steals within the first 20 minutes. At the break, the Bulls led 36-28 over UT.

2nd Half | To open the half, the Spartans were on the board first with a fast-break three-point jumper by Gamble with an assist by Bacon. Two minutes later, Bacon came back with a bucket of his own. Gamble tallied 12 points, nine of those came with the second half. All 12 points were from three-pointers, he shot 33 percent from the three-point line. Tampa lacked some on the defensive side allowing the Bulls to score 44 points, forcing only seven turnovers compared to 11 in the first half. 

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Bacon was the leading point scorer with 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
• Gamble was the second highest point scorer with 12 points and four rebounds.
• Biffle led the Spartans defensively, as a thief on the court, with seven steals.
• As a team, Tampa shot 54 percent from the free throw line.

BEYOND THE BOX:

• Biffle recorded a career high in steals with seven. 

UP NEXT: The Spartans are set to host Montevallo Falcons on Saturday, Nov. 10^th at 3:00 PM. Live stats and video will be available through TampaSpartans.com.

Text Alerts: UT also offers a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.

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