Hot Start Leads Tampa To Senior Day Victory

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa (21-6, 10-6 SSC) men's basketball team celebrated Senior Day with a 79-75 victory over Florida Tech (19-11, 9-7 SSC) in its regular season and Sunshine State Conference finale from the Bob Martinez Sports Center.

The Spartans took advantage of Tech's early zone defense, connecting on seven 3-pointers in the first 10-minutes of play as UT led by as many as 21 points in the first half. The Panthers avoided a complete meltdown in the first half as it closed the period on an 11-2 run to cut the Tampa halftime lead to 40-28.

Though Tampa held its lead for the entire second half, the Panthers fought back and trimmed UT's lead to just four points at 55-51 with 10:51 to play.

With FIT sitting within striking distance for a comeback victory, UT appeared to seal the game on an Anthony Griffis 3-pointer with 3:00 to play that put his team up 72-65. The Panthers proceeded to score five unanswered and missed an opportunity to tie the game or grab its first lead as it held the possession while trailing 72-70 with 1:56 to play in regulation.

After forcing a missed shot, Tampa went up five on a Rashad Callaway basket that drew a foul. After Callaway converted the free throw, Tech sunk a pair of free throws to trim Tampa's lead to a single possession at 75-72.

A missed Spartan 3-point attempt allowed Florida Tech to have possession with a chance to tie as it trailed 75-72 with just under 20-seconds on the clock. The Spartan defense answered as Fred Woods came up with a steal that left a clear path to the basket for an emphatic dunk that sealed the Spartan victory.

Griffis and Callaway scored 22 and 20 points respectively to lead the Spartans as Woods added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds off the bench. Woods also provided an inside presence for the Spartans as he finished with five blocked shots.

Callaway led Tampa with six assists and two steals as he also connected on 7-for-12 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line on a day where he was honored before the game for his stellar Spartan career.

The Spartans and Panthers will meet again on Wednesday in the opening round of the 2011 SSC Tournament. Tampa earned the No. 4 seed and will host No. 5 Florida Tech at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and a webcast will be available through www.tampaspartans.com.

The winner will advance to the semifinals of the BlueCross and BlueShield of Florida SSC Basketball Championships. Florida Tech will serve as the host of the conference championship semifinals and finals, which are slated for Saturday and Sunday in Melbourne, Fla.

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