Seasiders Take Advantage of Spartan Turnovers

LAIE, Hawaii - The University of Tampa men's basketball team fell to 11th ranked BYU-Hawaii by a score of 103-75. The Spartans fall to 4-2 on the season while the Seasiders improve to 4-0.

In the first-half, the Spartans came out sluggish, shooting 38 percent from the field opposed to 56 percent from the Seasiders, who also shot a blistering 62 percent from long range. The Spartans were also out-rebounded 18-9 and made 16 turnovers going into halftime trailing 51-29.

In the second half, the Spartans brought the lead down to 15 with 12 minutes to go, but could now keep up with the intensity of the Seasiders. The Spartans shot 51 percent from the field and forced 14 turnovers but could not amount the huge deficit.

The Spartans had four players in double figures, led by senior forward Jeremy Black with 21, followed by Johnathan Ball with 18. Chris Evans and Chris King added 15 and 13 respectively. Black also led the Spartans in rebounds with seven while Mounir Benzegala came off the bench to lead UT with a team-high six assists.

The Seasiders had four players also in double figures, led by senior Paul Peterson with a game-high 32 points followed by Lucas Alves with 30 and Jermaine Objegba and Trenson Akana with 18 and 11 respectively.

The Spartans are back in action Tuesday as they look to conclude the Hoop N' Surf Classic, facing Hawaii Pacific at 10:00 pm eastern time.