Men's Basketball Season Ends In NCAA Tournament

Fort Lauderdale, Fla – The University of Tampa Men's Basketball took the floor this afternoon in the NCAA South Region First Round, hosted by Nova Southeastern in South Florida. This was the Spartans first NCAA Tournament appearance in over a decade, earning the No. 7 seed. Tampa matched up with the No. 2 seed, University of Alabama in Huntsville Chargers in what was a full forty minute battle.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final Score: Tampa 88, Alabama Huntsville 99 

Regular Season Records: Tampa 19-9 (11-9 SSC), Alabama Huntsville 26-1 (22-0 GSC)

Location: Rick Case Arena l Fort Lauderdale, Fla

All-time series: This was the 11th meeting between these two programs. With the loss, Tampa is still behind in the all-time series 7-4.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

FIRST HALF: To begin this contest, the Spartans forced two straight turnovers including a shot clock violation. Tampa was rewarded with a Trey Lane three pointer and thier first points of the game. Tampa's defense was able to come up with two more defensive stops leading to Bryan Williams and Trey Lane points. Tampa was able to jumbo out to an early 6-0 lead before UAH finally got on the board. The defense from the Spartans continued to do their job, holding the 13th ranked three point shooting team to zero made three's through the first five minutes. Tyson Leitao responded to the made three ball with a free throw and the Spartans led 7-5 with 14:30 left in the first half. Over the next few minutes, both teams began trading baskets as this contest started to heat up. However after a Ryan Blount three, UAH went on a 8-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 15-10. Needing a confidence booster, Bryan Williams was able to pick off a UAH pass and Kyler Lamb was able to tip in a basket to put the Spartans back on the board. Tampa forced three more Charger turnovers but were only able to add a Trey Lane jumper before UAH got back on the board. They did not just get back on the board as UAH used another 8-0 run to take a double digit lead. With just over eight minutes to play, Bryan Williams used a quick move to find separation for a jumper but Tampa was still down 24-16. Ryan Blount followed up his teammate with a deep jumper for his second three of the game but UAH was able to answer both scores. By the five minute mark of the first half and still down ten, Ryan Blount and Amarion Nimmers both drilled three's to give Tampa some life in the final minutes. However, Tampa went cold again and UAH grew the lead out to 44-27 with two minutes to play. Bryan Williams was able to fight his way to the line for a pair of free throws to end the 10-0 run from the Chargers but the damage had been done. Both teams traded baskets as the first half came to a close but the Spartans found themselves down 16 after the first 20 minutes. 

Score: Tampa 32, Alabama Huntsville 48

SECOND HALF: The first possession of the second half for each team ended in points and this game was back off and running. UAH converted on their second possession as well before Ian Higdon added a second chance basket to keep pace. After a Charger three, Tyson Leitao responded for the Spartans with a floater in the paint. Trey Lane and Bryan Williams made it 4/4 for Tampa when it came to scoring to start the half but UAH was also able to do the same. In total, both teams started the second half started with five straight offensive possessions in a row with a basket and combined for 11 straight points without a stop. It was the Spartan defense who got the first stop of the half when Trey Lane intercepted a Charger inbound pass and passed it straight to Tyson Leitao downlow for a big time slam. Despite the offensive success, UAH was able to turn two empty Tampa possessions into five quick points and build a 64-46 lead with under 15 minutes to go. In response, Amarion Nimmers was able to finish back to back layups around the rim including a three point play. Bryan Williams added more free throws but the Chargers continued to score with efficiency. Bryan Williams was doing everything he could on both sides of the floor, swiping another pass and going coast to coast for an easy lay. As tough the Spartans were fighting, they still found themselves down 21 as this contest crossed into the final 10 minutes. Trying to spark a comeback, Trey Lane hit a corner three and the Tampa defense forced their third shot clock violation of the game. Tyson Leitao knocked down an elbow jumper off the turnover to cut the lead to 16 but UAH came right back with points to push the lead out to 20. Trey Lane and Kaden Frobe both hit runners around the paint but with under eight minutes left, Tampa needed stops in bunches. On the next two UAH possessions, Tampa was able to force back to back turnovers but were unable to turn tough stops into points. It wasn't until the Chargers got back on the board when Tyson Letao hit his second jump shot of the game from the elbow. Trey Lane and Bryan Williams each got the line a few times in a row and were able to cut the lead to 12. On the ensuing possessions, a huge rejection from Ryan Blount led to Amarion Nimmers points in the paint and Tampa was only down 86-76 with 4:32 left. Both teams went cold for over a minute until the Chargers were able to finish off a three point play for a 13 point lead. With 2:13 left, Tampa forced a five second violation and used a 4-0 run to cut the lead to single digits. Trying to extend the game, Tampa began fouling in which the Chargers went 6/7 down the stretch. With their season on the line, Tyson Leitao and Ryan Blount both made three's to cut the lead to seven with 35.6 seconds to play. Unfortunately for Tampa, these shots plus another Trey Lane Layup were not enough as Alabama Huntsville put down the late comeback attempt. 

FINAL: Tampa 88, Alabama Huntsville 99

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Trey Lane finishes with 24 points and 5 steals in his NCAA Tournament debut

• Tyson Leitao finishes his outstanding Spartan career with a 14 point, 10 rebound double-double

• Five Spartans recorded 11+ points 

UP NEXT: This concludes the 2024-25 Tampa Men's Basketball season after reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. This year's Spartan squad elevated the program to a 20 win season (+12 win improvement from last year), an SSC Tournament Semi-final appearance, and put Tampa basketball back on the map. The program will be saying goodbye to a group of spectacular young men who led by example both on and off the court. Tyson Leitao, Bryan Williams, Kaden Froebe, Zach Johnson, Isaiah Young, and De'Andre Harvey have laid the foundation for a culture built on hard work and winning. Head Coach Linc Darner and his staff will get right to work on preparing for the 2025-26 season, with the goal to end up right back at the NCAA South Regional next year. 

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