MELBOURNE, Fla. – The University of Tampa men’s basketball team falls big to the Florida Tech Panthers.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

Final Score: Tampa 54, Florida Tech 87

Records: University of Tampa Spartans (4-12, 1-7 SSC), Florida Institute of Technology Panthers (9-8, 3-6 SSC)

Location: Melbourne, Fla || Charles & Ruth Clemente Center

All-Time Series: Tampa leads in the overall all-time series 49-26 but is now tied at 19-19 for their away record.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Half | The Panthers drained two quick three-pointers that got the game off and running. Khadim Gueye was the first Spartan on the board for Tampa. The Spartans had a hard time putting the ball through the net and it allowed for the Panthers to go on a 10-0 run. Under the 10^th minute, Pat Bacon scored his first basket of the game and two more consecutive baskets to try to jumpstart Tampa’s offense. Florida Tech had a few more big runs though that definitively put them on top to end the half.  || Tampa 25, Florida Tech 38

2nd Half | Neither team had much offense going to start the half. The majority of points on both ends of the court were coming from the charity strike. Martin Lakovic and Bacon tried to keep the Spartans in the game, but the quantity of turnovers committed were not in their favor. Florida Tech scored a total of 20 points off turnovers. Off the bench, Gio Diaz knocked down two threes for Tampa along with long jumper, however the Spartans still came up short. || Tampa 54, Florida Tech 87

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Pat Bacon was the leading scorer with 14 points, four rebounds, and a steal.
• Martin Lakovic was the second leading scorer with 13 points, four rebounds, one block, and one steal. 

BEYOND THE BOX:

• Martin Lakovic now has four consecutive double-digit games.

UP NEXT: Tampa will return to the Martinez Athletics Center to compete against Lynn University on Jan. 18 at 4 P.M. 

GAMEDAY MULTIMEDIA: Fans may watch all home games and Sunshine State Conference contests on TampaSpartans.tv. Live stats are also available through TampaStats.com.

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