Spartans Win Opening Night Thriller Over Montevallo

SAINT LEO, Fla. – The University of Tampa Spartans Men's Basketball team opened the 2021-2022 season with a win against the Montevallo Falcons.

Final: Tampa Spartans 93, Montevallo Falcons 89

Records: Tampa (1-0), Montevallo (0-2)

Location: Marion Bowman Center || Saint Leo, Fla.

All-Time Series: Tampa and Montevallo have only met twice before, the series is tied at 1-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF:

The Falcons opened the scoring with an early lead but, the Spartans came back with some points of their own. The Spartans showed off their impressive offense in the first half, led by 2021 SSC Freshman of the Year, Max Jones who scored 18 points. The Spartans had two impressive scoring runs in the first half, a 9-0 run and a 12-2 run. Senior Brent Duncan and Junior Mykah Brown both scored six points, helping the Spartans come out of the half with the lead. || Score: 50-32 Tampa

SECOND HALF

The second half saw the Spartans continue their scoring; the team led with a score of 68-55 with 10:42 left in the half. With 4:30 left in the half, the Falcons were closing in and got the score to 77-70, with the Spartans narrowly holding onto their lead. With the game tied at 77, the Spartans were forced to call a timeout with 2:15 left in the half. The Falcons would end up pushing back, making the game need an overtime to decide the winner. Jones continued his excellent play, scoring 10 points in the second half. Senior Derrick Felder went 3-8 in shooting, scoring eight points in the half, including the game-tying three pointer to send the game to overtime. || Score: Tied 82-82

OVERTIME

The Spartans and the Falcons would continue to score back-to-back points in the opening minutes of overtime. Behind Senior Felder's five points in overtime, the Spartans would hold on to win the game 93-89. Jones would end the night with 30 points, shooting 14-17 with an 82% in free throws. || FINAL: 93-89 Tampa

INSIDE THE STATS

• Three Spartans scored in double digits tonight: Senior Derek Felder (20), Freshman Max Jones (30), and Senior Brent Duncan (14).
• The Spartans scored 46 points in the paint tonight, outscoring the Falcons in the paint by two. 

BEYOND THE BOX

• Max Jones scored 30 points in tonight's game, continuing his success as a Spartan.
• Jones' 17 free-throw shots are a career high, as are his 14 makes.
• Derrick Felder recorded 20 points, seven rebounds, and five steals.
• Freshman Bryan Williams recorded eight points in his collegiate debut.
• Forward Brent Duncan added 14 points for the Spartans, shooting 77% from the field.

UP NEXT: The Spartans return to action tomorrow as they take on Alabama-Huntsville at 3 PM.

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