The University of Tampa men’s basketball team (8-6, 3-3 SSC) finished their winter break on a low note, losing three straight conference games.
In what has proven to be a back-and-fourth season, the Spartans went 3-4 between semesters.
The seven game stretch began with the Tampa Classic, held shortly before Christmas at the Martinez Center.
UT defeated Concordia, N.Y., 86-81, before losing to Delta State 58-56 on a buzzer-beating dunk the next day.
Freshman Callum Townsend led the Spartans with 22 points in the first game of the classic. Sophomore Marcus Morrison chipped in with eight rebounds.
Junior Rashad Callaway scored 16 points against Delta State, including a 13-16 performance from the free throw line. However, a last-second dunk by Marqueys Brown stifled UT’s efforts.
The Spartans rebounded from the defeat, winning their first two games of 2010.
The home victories came over Nova Southeastern and Saint Leo, 66-63 and 64-59 respectively.
Callaway scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half against NSU, while junior Glyn Hunter contributed 11 rebounds in the victory.
Callaway again led the Spartans in scoring with 27 points against Saint Leo while Morrison had three steals.
UT won despite the absence of its second-leading scorer, senior Mounir Benzegala.
Trouble ensued once UT hit the road. A Jan. 9 loss to Lynn by an 85-77 margin gave Tampa its first conference loss of the season.
Callaway provided the team with a silver lining, turning in a career high of 45 points for the Spartans.
Four days later the Spartans fell to Eckerd 75-66. There were, however, encouraging signs as three Spartans scored in double figures while UT outshot the Tritons 38 percent to 36 percent.
The team came home to take on No. 23 Rollins, where their luck did not change.
The Tars handed UT its biggest loss so far this season, a 72-55 setback. Rollins never trailed and shot 55.6 percent to UT’s 33.3 percent.
While the losing streak was a step backward for the squad, the team remains encouraged.
“The morale of the team is pretty high,” Hunter said. “If we can become more consistent and translate our talent into wins we will have a successful season.”
The coaching staff shared the sentiments, focusing on the need to gel and find an identity.
“Everybody is working hard to understand their roles so they can contribute to the team,” assistant coach Justin Pecka said. “We need to improve on the mental aspect of the game.”