TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa Spartans men's basketball team battled the Florida Tech Panthers in an SSC matchup Saturday afternoon.

Final: Tampa Spartans 74 , Florida Tech Panthers 72

Records: Tampa Spartans (15-8) SSC (11-7) , Florida Tech Panthers (5-13) SSC (11-12)

Location: Bob Martinez Center || Tampa, Florida

All-Time Series: The Spartans are 57-29 in matchups against the Panthers. Their last matchup was on Jan 8th with the Spartans taking the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half: The Spartans played relatively well in the first half. The three-pointer shot was their domain as well their reason their lead continued to lengthen against the Panthers. Tampa shot 47% from the three point line, making seven of them. The Spartans got a boost of energy from their bench. Mykah Brown and Jonathan Bryant II each scored nine points, while Bryan Williams chipped in eight. That's 26 points combined off the bench just from three players compared to Florida Tech's 10, Brown and Bryant II were the main reasons why Tampa was shooting so well from the three-point line. Not only was the bench productive, but Max Jones, in his second game back, got back in his groove, scoring 10 points in the half. The Spartans led by 14 heading into halftime. II Score: 41-27 (Spartans)

Second Half: In the second half, the pace changed drastically. The Spartans would get the first basket to put the lead up to the 16. From then on, the Panthers controlled the narrative, going on a 16-4 run by making smart plays and getting second chance opportunities. This run would put the Spartans lead at four with 11:18 remaining. The Panthers would continue to pounce on the Spartans, not letting them get away with a lead. Over the next seven minutes the Panthers outscored the Spartans 18-10 taking a three point lead with 3:55 remaining (61-58). The Spartans would regain the lead by four after Jones hit a dagger three-pointer then a layup (68-64). The Panthers would immediately respond the very next possession after converting a layup (68-66). After two missed three-point shots by Jones, the Panthers were in transition and scored in the paint at the very last second to tie the game. || Score: (68-68)

Overtime: Tampa did not start overtime on the right foot. Missed shots and numerous turnovers allowed the Panthers to take a two point lead after a two-minute scoring drought (68-70). Jones would immediately retaliate with a layup off the inbound. The tempo slowed down as time went by, with the Panthers leading by two (72-70), Martin Lakovic was fouled in the motion of shooting. Lakovic converted the two free throws to tie the game (72-72). The Panthers could not convert a basket, calling three timeouts in the span of a minute and ultimately running out of timeouts 20 seconds to go, Jones grabs the defensive rebound and cross court. Jones waited patiently for a last possession opportunity, calling Lakovic for a pick, then negated away from the pick. Jones stopped at the top of the key; did a spin and hit a clutch fadeaway shot with two seconds left in the game. The Panthers would try to respond but Jones would block the shot and the clock would run out.