Tampa's SSC Tournament Run Cut Short At The Hands Of No. 2 Nova

Fort Lauderdale, Fla – The University of Tampa Men's Basketball team was on the road again tonight for the Sunshine State Conference Semifinals. The No. 5 seeded Spartans took on the No. 1 seed and No. 2 team in the country Nova Southeastern. In a contest that saw nearly 200 total points, both teams came out hot and ready to run. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final Score: Tampa 80, #2 Nova Southeastern 104

Regular Season Records: Tampa 19-9 (11-9 SSC), #2 Nova Southeastern 27-1 (19-1)

Location: Rick Case Arena l Fort Lauderdale, Fla

All-time series: This was the 51st meeting between these two programs. With the loss, Tampa is still behind in the all-time series 32-19.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

FIRST HALF: Tonight's game started out extremely fast. Nova opened the scoring just eight seconds in before Ian Higdon got the Spartans on the board with a layup just moments later. Back and forth both teams went and before two minutes of game time had passed, the score was tied 8-8. Bryan Williams had six points himself before the first media timeout at the 16 minute mark with the score tied 12-12. Nova went on their first run of the game to take a seven point lead but Kaden Froebe and Trey Lane answered with buckets of their own. As the first half crossed 13 minutes remaining, Cole Gingeleski got up for a big time slam and gave Tampa much needed momentum. This sparked a 7-0 run by Tampa with Trey Lane hitting a three from the wing. However, Nova was able to respond themselves, pushing their lead back out to multiple possessions. This was until Amarion Nimmers sank a corner three off the dribble to cut the Nova lead to five at 36-31. With under eight minutes to go, Ryan Blount knocked down a huge three and the Nova lead was cut to two. The Sharks and Kaden Froebe traded three's to make the scoreline 41-39, but Nova was not slowing down. They went on their third big run of the half, this time extending their lead all the way out to double digits before Trey Lane drilled another three from deep. The final minutes saw Froebe and Williams hit shots but the Spartans were unable to catch up before the end of the half. 

Score: Tampa 47, #2 Nova Southeastern 56

SECOND HALF: Still within striking distance, the Spartans knew they needed to score early and often to close the gap. The second half started out strong for Tampa as Tyson Leitao bullied his way to the rim for a lay. Unfortunately, this was the only basket Tampa was able to get in the first few minutes as Nova exploded for a 10-0 run. With still 17 minutes to play, Trey Lane and Ryan Blount put a stop to the Nova run with back to back three balls from way beyond the arc. Amarion Nimmers and Blount added more points to try and muster a Tampa comeback but they still had work to do down 72-58. The defensive play from the Spartans gave them a chance, holding the Sharks to just four points over a three minute stretch. In this time, only a Leitao layup would get home and the Spartans were still down double digits with under ten to go. Nova was able to pick up the pace again, this time going on a run to extend the lead to 20+ points. Kaden Froebe, Bryan Williams, and Amarion Nimmers all hit shots in response but Nova still led 95-71 with just under six minutes to play. The final minutes of this game saw Trey Lane and B.J. Schaeffer add some more made baskets, but Tampa's chance at an SSC Tournament Title Birth had come to a close.  

FINAL: Tampa 80, #2 Nova Southeastern 104

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Trey Lane drops 19 points after going for 20 in the quarterfinal

• Five Spartans recorded double digit points 

• Tampa defense held the SSC Player of the Year to just 12 points and 5 turnovers  

UP NEXT: This concludes the Spartans run in SSC Tournament and the chance of an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Tampa Men's Basketball will have to wait for Selection Sunday on March 9 at 11 p.m. ET to see if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA South Regional. 

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