Spartans Come Up Short Against #10 Florida Southern

LAKELAND, Fla - The University of Tampa men's basketball team was defeated by the 10^th ranked Moccasins of Florida Southern in an SSC rivalry matchup.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 

Final Score: #10 Florida Southern 85, Tampa 77
Records: Tampa Spartans (5-13, 2-8 SSC), Florida Southern Moccasins (16-2, 8-2 SSC)
Location: Lakeland, Fla || George W. Jenkins Field House
All-Time Series: Tampa still trails the All-Time series by a record of 42-73.

HOW ITHAPPENED:
1st Half || The Spartans entered the game ready to play as they were able to get out to an early eight point lead. The offense was led by their guard-play as Pat Bacon and Gio Diaz were able to fuel the Spartans on both ends of the floor. A 10-0 run was capped off by an open three-pointer by freshman Jake Harris, off the assist of Khadim Gueye. Midway through the first half of play, the Spartans offense seemed to cool off as the game turned into a defensive battle. A Spartans scoring drought that lasted over two minutes was subdued by a much needed three-pointer by Diaz, giving him his second of the half. Martin Lakovic picked up his second field goal of the half with a smart follow leading to a second chance basket. With five seconds remaining in the half, Bacon went coast to coast to finish a buzzer beater layup as he finished the half with 10 points. || 33-32 FSC

2nd Half || Khadim Gueye came out of the break with an offensive mindset as he scored consecutive baskets, finished off with a crafty mid-range jumper. Despite Gueye's offensive efforts, the rest of the Spartans defense fell in a slump as the Spartans were held scoreless in eight straight possessions and Southern went on a 14-3 run. Back to back threes by Lakovicand Bacon helped hold the Mocs lead to nine points. After a steal and crosscourt assist to Bacon, the Spartans narrowed the deficit to single digits. Tampa kept battling as Lakovic knocked down his second three of the game off a crafty assist from Bacon. Minutes later, Diaz knocked down a huge three pointer after being fouled to hold the Mocs lead to a single possession. A careless turnover by the Spartans followed by an offensive rebound led to a quick four point swing that proved to be the turning point in the half. || 85-77 FSC

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Three Spartans finished in double-figures tonight: Pat Bacon (32), Gio Diaz (19), Martin Lakovic (15)
• Prior to fouling out, Khadim Gueye finished the game with 8 PTS and 8 REB
• Florida Southern used their run n' gun offense and scored 28 fast-break points

BEYOND THE BOX:

• Pat Bacon has scored in double-digits figures in every game this season
• Bacon recorded his second 30+ point game of the season
• Gio Diaz scored a career-high 19 points, going 6-12 on the field.

UP NEXT: The Spartans will travel down to Fort Lauderdale to face the #8 ranked Sharks of Nova Southeastern on Saturday, January 25^th, at 2 PM.

Tickets: General admission ticket prices for all Tampa regular season athletic events are $5. Youth (ages 12 and under) are admitted free of charge. UT students and faculty/staff are admitted free with a valid Spartan ID.

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