With Jeremy Black controlling the paint and Chris King continuing his hot shooting the University of Tampa men’s basketball team had little difficulty defeating Florida Tech on Monday night.
The Spartans never trailed and led by as many as 23 points, before going on to win 63-45. The 45 points the Panthers scored was the lowest point total Tampa had allowed all season.
Black had 14 points and eight rebounds and King finished with a game-high 21 points. Black took advantage of an undersized Florida Tech team (5-16, 1-8 SSC) as he and the Spartans (11-10, 3-6 SSC) outscored the Panthers 40-18 in the paint.
Johnathan Ball had nine points, eight assists and six rebounds, and Matt Pezzullo added six rebounds and two steals in the victory.
Tampa shot 26-of-52 from the floor, while Florida Tech shot 36 percent, going 16-of-44 from the field and 1-of-16 from 3-point range.
Jermaine Salmon made his debut for the Spartans after being cleared to play by the NCAA on Jan. 23. Salmon received a nice ovation from his teammates as he went to the scorers table to check in. He played three minutes.
The Spartans return to action on Saturday, Feb. 3 when they take on Barry at 4 p.m. inside the Martinez Center.