Tampa Men End Season Despite Strong Effort by Jeremy Black

Box score

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's basketball team saw its 2006-07 season come to an end following a 71-55 loss to Nova Southeastern in the Sunshine State Conference tournament quarterfinals. The Spartans conclude the season with a 15-14 overall record as Nova Southeastern advances to the semifinals with a 14-14 mark.

After taking a 5-3 lead with 17:38 on the clock, the Spartans allowed the Sharks to go on a 9-0 run. Nova Southeastern continued to pull away as it mounted a 35-19 lead at the half.

The Spartans started sluggishly in the second half as the Sharks started the period on a 7-2 run while scoring the first four points. The lead was stretched to 27 points with a 62-35 NSU lead at the 7:34 mark as the Sharks held off any shot at a Spartan rally.

"We couldn't shoot and we couldn't pass," says Head Coach Richard Schmidt. "We had a day when we couldn't do anything. I could have sworn we were ready to play."

Jeremy Black led the way for Tampa with team highs of 15 points and five rebounds. He connected on 4-7 field goals, including a three-pointer, and 6-8 free throws. Black also added three steals.

Johnathan Ball joined Black in double figures with 10 points as TJ Lundy came off the bench to grab five rebounds to join Black for team honors.

"We know the SSC is a big deal," says Ball. "We lose one senior and a lot of people gained experience that are coming back next year. This shouldn't affect us too negatively."

Both teams had their share of problems on the offensive end, with Nova Southeatsern committing 23 turnovers while Tampa had 22. The Sharks enjoyed a hot shooting effort, connecting on 56 percent of their shots from the field. UT, who was just 5-19 from three-point range, was held to a 31 percent clip from the field.

The Spartans will now set their sights on next season, where they have the luxury of losing just one player in senior Matt Pezzullo. Black, a first-team all-SSC selection, returns along with Preseason All-American Chris Evans and fellow junior Chris King.

After starting the season with a 6-1 record, the Spartans failed to rebound from a pair of losses to West Florida and West Virginia State and were set back by a 7-9 record in SSC play. The season did include a pair of victories over SSC champion Rollins, with the initial win coming over the nation's fifth-ranked team.