WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The University of Tampa men’s basketball team faced off against Sunshine State Conference opponent Palm Beach Atlantic University in its first matchup of the New Year.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 
Final Score: Palm Beach Atlantic 81, Tampa 64 
Records: Tampa Spartans (3-10, 0-5 SSC), Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish (9-3, 2-2 SSC)
Location: Rubin Arena || West Palm Beach, FL 
All-Time Series: Despite the loss tonight, Tampa still holds a 24-8 lead in the all-time series history.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Half || The Spartans started off the game unable to take control of the ball as they recorded seven turnovers within the first six minutes of play. Despite not being able to take care of the ball on offense, the Tampa defense was able to force five turnovers within the first seven minutes. The sloppy play continued throughout the half as both teams went on scoring droughts with nothing seemed to find the basket, until Tampa was able to go on an 13-2 run to increase their lead to double-digits. The first half scoring was led by guards Derrick Felder and Pat Bacon as they combined for 21 points. Tampa’s inability to score from three continued as they went 2-for-11 from behind the arc (18%), which is below their season average of 29% from three-point range. The Sailfish were able to lower the deficit and narrowed the Spartans lead to just two points as they headed into the locker room for halftime. || 37-35 Tampa

2nd Half || The scoring for both sides continued at a steady pace as both teams topped their respective scores from the first ten minutes of the first half. However, around the 15-minute mark, the Spartans offense cooled off their efficient scoring and went on a drought that lasted over four minutes, as the Sailfish took a seven-point lead. After finally breaking the drought, the Spartans yet again went scoreless, again for over four minutes, in which Palm Beach pushed their lead to double-digits, eventually going up by nineteen in the closing minutes of the game.  || 81-64 Palm Beach Atlantic

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Three Spartans finished in double-figures: Pat Bacon (18), Derrick Felder (15), and Martin Lakovic (14)
• Tampa was outrebounded by the Sailfish 35-43, which led to 11 second-chance points for the Sailfish
• Palm Beach Atlantic’s bench outscored the Spartans by 24 points.  

BEYOND THE BOX:

• Pat Bacon has scored in double-digits figures in every game this season.
• Derrick Felder has scored double figures in 8 of his last 9 games. 
• Pat Bacon is now the second leading scorer in the Sunshine State Conference averaging 21.3 ppg.
• Tampa’s scoring drought in the second half lasted just under eight minutes.
• The Spartans shot just 4-19 (21%) from 3PT range.

UP NEXT: The University of Tampa Men’s Basketball team will return to action next Wednesday, Janurary 8^th, as they are set to tipoff against the Golden Eagles of Embry-Riddle at 7:30 PM.  

Tickets: General admission ticket prices for all Tampa regular season athletic events are $5. Youth (ages 12 and under) are admitted free of charge. UT students and faculty/staff are admitted free with a valid Spartan ID.

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