Cold Shooting Tars Fall To Bears.

The Rollins College Tars came into Sunday's title game of the 38th annual Winter Park Rotary Tangerine Tournament looking to win the team's first tournament title since 2008 and get coach Tom Klusman his 599th career win. The Tars would fall 79-66 though.
  Rollins (8-2) saw it's eight game win streak snapped largely in part due to the fact that they only shot 39 percent (20-51) from the floor and going 9-24 from the 3-point line. Dave Diakite capped off a good weekend for him with 20 points and six rebounds. The UCF transfer was named to All-Tournament team. Kyle McClanahan was also a member of the All-Tournament team. He had 10 points on the afternoon. Adam Allen came off the bench to score 11 for the Tars. The Tars turned the ball over 10 times and struggled at the foul line shooting 63 percent (17-27.)
   Shaw(6-4) brought the tournament title to North Carolina by shooting 50 percent from the floor and nailing 55 percent (11-20) from the 3-point line. Taurus Dortch paced the Bears with 23 points on the afternoon.  Karron Johnson had another monster game with 17 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and two blocks. Johnson was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Latrail McCoy was also on the All-Tournament Team, he put up 15 points and five rebounds in the title game. The Bears won the rebounding battle 32-31. They turned the ball over 10 times and made 76 percent (16-21) from the foul line.
  The Tars got off to a quick start and led 11-3 after a Mitch Woods 3-pointer three minutes in. The Bears would then turn up the defensive intensity, force some bad shots by the Tars and get a few turnovers to go on a 25-5 run to take a 28-16 lead.
  The Bears would lead by as many as 16 (37-21) in the opening half. The lead would be 41-27 at the intermission.
  The Bears would stretch the lead to 17 early in the second half, then the Tars would later go on a 9-2 spurt to cut the lead to 58-52 with 11:42 to go.
  The Bears would stretch the lead back out to 11 before the Tars would again get to within six (64-58) with 5:26 to go. The Tars would not get any closer than six the rest of the way and see the win streak snapped at eight.
  The Tars will look to bounce back on Saturday when they battle 12-0 and 22nd ranked Tampa at the Bob Martinez Center. Tip time is set for 4 PM. As always you can catch all the action on RollinsSports.com and WPRK in Winter Park.

Tars Advance To Title Game.

The Rollins College Tars (8-1) hold off a pesky squad from Mansfield (PA) to advance to the championship game of the 38th Winter Park Rotary Tangerine Tournament. After trailing for much of the first half the Tars used a late run to take a 34-30 lead at the half. They would control much of the second half and hang on for the 71-61 win at Warden Arena.
  Three Tars scored in double figures on the afternoon. Dave Diakite led the Tars with a career high 23 points on the game. Kyle McClanahan added 17 and Mitch Woods chipped in 11 for the Tars. The Tars shot the three exceptionally well in the second half and turned up the defensive intensity. The numbers were almost identical in the opening half. The Tars were 12-24 from the field, while the Mounties went 12-25. Each team was 3 of 11 from the 3-point line.  The Tars shot 50 percent overall for the game and were a solid 20-22 at the foul line.  The Tars also won the rebounding battle 29-26.
  The Mounties dropped to 2-6 on the season with the loss. Joe Bell led all scorers with 26 points and eight rebounds. The only other Mountie in double figures was Chuck Harper, who tallied 11 points and seven rebounds. Mansfield shot 23-52 on the afternoon and went six of 21 from the 3-point line.
  The Tars will face Shaw University (NC) tomorrow at 2 PM in the title game. The Bears were a 79-64 winner over Flagler Saturday. Flagler and Mansfield will battle in the consolation game at noon.

Tars Open 38th Tangerine Tournament Saturday against Mounties.

The red hot Rollins Tars (7-1) winners of seven straight look to do something they have not done in a few years this weekend. The Tars will host the 38th Winter Park Rotary Tangerine tournament Saturday and Sunday. Rollins will look to win the tournament for the first time since 2008. Shaw and Flagler will meet in the other contest Saturday.
  The Tars are coming off a clean sweep of the Rollins Las Vegas Classic. They defeated Abeline Christian 65-61 and knocked off Cameron 88-76. Kyle McClanahan had an outstanding tournament and was named the Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week. The Winter Park native had 24 points, five rebounds and five assists in the opener. The next day against Cameron he had 20 points, seven assists and seven steals. McClanahan leads the Tars in scoring at 14.4 points a game. He leads the SSC in assists at 5.8 a game and also is tops in field goal percentage at 59 percent on the season. Three other Tars average double figures led by Brett Chance at 11.8 a game. Dave Diakite puts up 11.4 a game and Adam Allen nets 10 a night. The Tars average allowing just over 60 points a game. Offensively they put up 72.6 and the Tars have dominated the glass this season at +7.4.
  Mansfield comes in with a 2-5 record. They were a 79-50 loser to Indiana (PA) last time out. Joe Bell led the Mounties in the last contest and leads them on the season in scoring. Bell is averaging 17.4 points and 9.9 rebounds a night. Two other Mounties, Chuck Harper (12.0 ppg) and Onyema Utti nets  10 a contest.
  The Mounties put up 69 points a game but have struggled on the defensive end, giving up 74. They shoot 44 percent as a team (32 percent from the 3-point line.) The Mounties have made two other trips to the Tangerine tournament and have a record of 1-3. The win came in 2003 when they split. They were swept in the 2005.
The line: Rollins by 18

Tars Complete Vegas Sweep.

The Rollins Tars (7-1) completed a sweep of a pair of a games in the inaugural Rollins Las Vegas Classic with a 88-76 win over Cameron University. The win was the Tars seventh straight and gave coach Tom Klusman 597 wins in his fine coaching career.
  Kyle McClanahan capped off a superb trip to Vegas with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.    McClanahan was 6 of 9 from the field and 4 of 4 at the foul line and from the 3-point line. Dave Diakite had another solid game scoring 18 points. Jeff Dirkin scored 11 points and Scott Schuette 10 off the Tars bench. The Tars shot 46 percent as a team and hit 12-32 from the 3-point line. Rollins shot 78.8 percent (26-33) at the foul line. The Tars won the rebounding battle 39-32 and had 19 assists to go along with 13 turnovers.
  The Aggies (5-5) split a pair of games in Vegas. Cameron fell to the Tars today after knocking off Florida Tech yesterday. FIT dropped two games while Abeline Christian split a pair of games.
  Three players from Cameron scored in double figures on the afternoon. Craig Foster paced the Aggies with 26 points, while Johnathan Patino and Rudy Harrell netted 12 points each.    The Aggies shot 43 percent for the game and hit 38 percent (11-29) from the 3-point line. The Aggies shot 73 percent at the foul line (11-15.)  Cameron had 17 assists and turned it over 15 times.
    The Tars were red hot to start the game and raced out to a 21-7 lead after a McClanahan 3-ball. The Tars were solid the entire first half and would stretch the lead to 21 (45-24) at the half. The biggest disparity in the first half was shooting the basketball. The Aggies shot 31 percent (9-29) and only 25 percent (3-12) from the 3-point line.  The Tars on the other hand shot 45 percent (14-31) from the field and 43 percent (9-21) from the 3-point line.
  The Tars would stretch the lead to 28 points (61-33) with 13:08 to go. The Aggies would chip away and cut the lead down to seven with 19 seconds to go but it would be too little too late.
  The Tars will take a 12 day break for the holidays and return to action December 29th when they host the Winter Park Rotary Tangerine Tournament. The Tars will battle Mansfield on the 29th while Flagler and Shaw will be the other participants.
 

Tars Set To Battle Aggies Sunday.

The  Rollins College Tars (6-1) riding a six game win streak will take on the Aggies of Cameron University in day two of the inaugural Rollins Las Vegas Classic at the Doolittle Center at 3 PM eastern time Sunday.
  The Tars are coming off a hard-fought 65-61 win over Abeline Christian on Saturday. After trailing by 12 points with 17:56 to go the Tars rallied for the victory. Kyle McClanahan had a career high 24 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Dave Diakite added 15 and had a key steal with 70 seconds to play, while Adam Allen knocked down four  3-pointer's to account for his 12 points off the bench.
  McClanahan leads the Tars in scoring at 13.6 points a game. He also averages 5.7 rebounds and  5.5 assists a contest. Brett Chance is second on the team at 12.6 a night. Three other players average double figures for the Tars. Dave Diakite (10.4 a game,) Mitch Woods and Adam Allen net 10 points per contests each. McClanahan leads the Tars with just over two steals a game. Jeff Dirkin has blocked 12 shots to lead the team.
  The Tars come into the contest averaging 74.6 points a game. The Tars stifling zone has held their opponents to 58 points a contest. The Tars are shooting 47.6 percent as a team and 38 percent from the 3-point line.
   The Aggies (5-4) of Cameron University are coming off a 78-70 win over Florida Tech on Saturday. The Aggies were led by four players in double figures. Craig Foster led the way with 21 points, Tim Johnson chipped in 16, while Andrew Thomas and Rudy Harrell netted 10 each.  Craig Foster is the only Aggie averaging double figures at 14.2 a game, Tim Johnson is second on the team at 9.9 points a night. The Aggies score 66.8 a game but give up just 63.7 a contest. They shoot 45 percent as a team and 30 percent from the 3-point line.
The line: Tars by 2
 
 

McClanahan's Big Day Lifts Tars.

Kyle McClanahan scored a career high 24 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists as the Rollins Tars won a sixth straight game. This one at the Doolittle Center in the inaugural Rollins Las Vegas Classic earning a 65-61 victory over Abeline Christian (4-5.)
  The Tars were led by three players in double figures on the afternoon. McClanahan's 24, were followed by a 15 point performance from Dave Diakite and 12 points on 4 of 5 from the 3-point line by Adam Allen. The Tars shot 55 percent (23-42 from the floor), they shot just 25 percent (5-20) from the 3-point line. The Tars missed just one free throw (14-15) to shoot 93 percent from the line. The Tars won the rebounding battle 29-23 and had 13 assists to go with 13 turnovers.
  The Wildcats lost a fourth straight on Saturday. Eric Lawton paced the Wildcats and led all scorers with 25 points in the contest. Steven Warner added 18 and Tyler Rogers chipped in 10 for the Wildcats.  The Wildcats shot 43 percent (22-51) from the floor. They shot 33 percent (6-18) from the 3-point line. The Wildcats struggled at the foul line, shooting 61 percent (11-18.) The Wildcats had 13 assists and just eight turnovers.
     The game was evenly played for much of the opening half. The Wildcats used a mini run right before halftime to take a 36-30 halftime lead. The Wildcats then scored the first six points of the second stanza to lead by 12 (42-30) with a little under 18 minutes to go. The Tars would battle back over the next 12 minutes and take a 56-55 lead on a Diakite dunk with 6:12 left.
  The Tars would keep that one point lead for the next five minutes and the biggest play of the game came on a Diakite steal with 1:10 to go. Chris Uhle and McClanahan would knock down free throws to seal the Tars win. The win was #596 for coach Tom Klusman.
  The Tars will be back in action Sunday when they take on Cameron. Tip time is set for 3 PM. As always you can catch all the action on 91.5 WPRK Winter Park and on Rollins Sports.Com

Tars Begin Play in Vegas Saturday.

The Rollins College Tars have been making the trip to Las Vegas for several years for a post- finals tournament. For the first time this season the Tars will host the Las Vegas Classic. The Tars will open play at 3 PM eastern Saturday when they face Abeline Christian at the Doolittle Community Center.
  Rollins comes into Saturday's contest on a roll. The Tars have won five straight after a upset loss to Warner to begin the 2012-13 campaign. The Tars come into Saturday scoring 76 points a night. The Tars are one of the stingiest defensive teams in DII allowing just 57.5 points a contest.
   The last game for the Tars was a Double Overtime thriller against Southeastern University that they ultimately pulled out. Mitch Woods had a monster game (26 points and 13 rebounds.) His two 3-pointers in the second OT proved to be the game winners in the 87-78 decision. It was by far the best game of the young career of Woods (transfer from Appalachain St). As has been the case much of the young season Kyle McClanahan and Brett Chance were big contributors in the victory also. McClanahan had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Chance added 15 points.
   Chance leads the Tars in scoring at 13.3 points a game. McClanahan puts up 11.8 a game and is second in the Sunshine State conference averaging 5.7 assists a contest. Woods chips in 11.3 a game and is second in the conference shooting at a 59 percent clip from the 3-point line. Jeff Dirkin is tied for the conference lead in blocked shots as he has recorded nine in the first six games.
  Coach Tom Klusman is closing in on win number 600 in his illustrious Rollins coaching career. Klusman currently sits at 595 wins in his career (all in Winter Park). The Tars have had great success in Las Vegas in the past but look to make up for a rare poor showing a season ago. Last year the Tars dropped a pair of games to Central and Western Washington in the Las Vegas High Dessert Classic.
    Abeiline Christian (4-4)- The Wildcats have been a very streaky team on this young season and look to begin streaking in the other direction when they battle Rollins on Saturday. After losing their opener to Dallas Baptist, the Wilidcats ran off four consecutive wins before the current three game losing streak that they head to Vegas on. Abeline scores 72.5 points a contest, but they allow 71.8 a night to their opponents.
  Eric Lawton leads the Wildcats scoring 16.6 points per game. Elliott Lloyd and Steven Warner also average double figures. Lloyd puts up 12.8 a game, while Warner scores 11 and leads the team in rebounding at 7.4 a contest.
The line: Tars by 6

Tars Escape Fire in Double OT.

The Rollins College Tars (5-1) needed a pair of overtimes on Friday night but escaped with a 87-78 win over the Southeastern University Fire at Warden Arena.
  The Tars were paced by Mitch Woods who scored a season high 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Woods hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers that would end up being the difference in the second overtime. Kyle McClanahan continued his solid play as he stuffed the stat sheet once again.  McClanahan tallied 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists in the win. Brett Chance also tallied 15 points for the hosts. It was the first double overtime game for the Tars since a 95-94 loss to Nova Southeastern in the "Shark Tank" back in 2008.
     The Tars shot 51 percent from the field and hit on 39 percent (11-28) from the 3-point line. The Tars were uncharacteristically poor at the foul line shooting just 57 percent (16-28.) Rollins won the rebounding battle 39-37, they had 16 assists as well as 16 turnovers.
  The Fire fell to 8-6 on the season. They were led by three players in double figures as well. Jordan Talley had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead the Fire, Brandon Moore netted 17 points to go along with seven rebounds.  Povillas Gaidys came off the bench to score 15. The Fire shot 39 percent from the floor on the evening. They shot 34 percent (12-35) from the 3-point line. The Fire shot 74 percent (14-19) at the free throw line. They had 17 assists and 16 turnovers.
    The Tars were in control much of the opening half The Tars would lead 22-17 with seven and a half left in the opening frame. A pair of 3-pointers would give the Fire a 23-22 lead The Fire would stretch the lead to five (29-24) before a Tars surge would give them a 35-31 halftime lead.
  The second half would see neither team lead by more than five points. It would be 65-60 Southeastern with 2:14 to go. Jeff Dirkin would come up with a big block on the defensive end and then Woods would bury a 3-pointer to cut the lead to two. The Tars would end up sending it into OT after a tough twisting layup by McClanahan tied it up. The Fire would have a chance to win in regulation but did not get the job done. The first OT went back and forth before it played out to be a 75-75 tie.
  Both teams would go cold in the second OT. Neither team would score in the first 2:33 of the second extra session. Woods would nail back to back 3-pointers with 1:54 left and the Tars would never look back.
  Rollins will be back in action as they head to Las Vegas next weekend. For the first time the Tars will host the Rollins Las Vegas Classic. They will take on Abeline Christian on the 15th and then Cameron University the next day. As always you can catch all the action on the Rollins Sports network at RollinsSports.TV and on WPRK 91.5 FM Winter Park.

Red Hot Tars Welcome Southeastern Friday.

The red hot Rollins Tars (4-1) look to stretch a four game win streak when they welcome the Fire of Southeastern to Winter Park on Friday evening.
  The Tars, after dropping the first game of the season to Warner University 58-50, have now reeled off four straight wins. In the victories the Tars have averaged 80 points a contest. The Tars have won the rebounding battle in each game of the win streak. Defensively, the Tars are third in DII allowing just 53.4 points per contest. The Tars are eight in the country in field goal percentage defense at 36 percent on the season. Brett Chance leads the Tars season box score putting up 13 points per night, Kyle McClanahan puts up 10.8 a game to go along with 5.6 assists. In the Tars five contests four different players have led the team in scoring.
  The Fire (8-5) have lost four of five after racing out to a 7-1 start on the season. The big win for Southeastern was when they upset Warner University (who defeated the Tars). Povillas Gaidys leads the Fire averaging 15.8 points and grabbing 6.5 rebounds a game.  Jordan Talley is also averaging in double figures scoring 11.8 a game. Talley is the top 3-point shooter on the Fire at 22 of 53 on the season.  Southeastern shoots 44 percent from the floor on the season and averages 69.8 points a game.
The Line: Tars by 16

Tars Make Early Statement In Conference Opener.

The Rollins College Tars came into Saturday's game with Eckerd at Warden Arena riding a three game win streak and facing a stiff test with Eckerd coming to town. The Tars were dynamite on Saturday in a  73-45 thumping of the Tritons.
  The win improved the Tars to 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in SSC play. Offensively the Tars were led by 17 points from Brett Chance, Adam Allen chipped in 13 and Kyle McClanahan added 13 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and two steals. The Tars shot 52 percent from the floor in the contest and knocked down 42 percent (11-26) from the 3-point line. The Tars out rebounded Eckerd 33-30. The Tars had 20 assists and 16 turnovers. The Tars went 8-13 (62%) at the free throw line.
  Eckerd fell to 2-1 on the season and 0-1 in SSC play. No one on the Tritons scored in double figures. Alex Bodney was the leading scorer with seven points, Malcolm Bruner Jr. and Jerrick Stevenson added six points each. The Tritons shot 31 percent from the field and hit just three of 19 from the 3-point line. They were 12-19 (63 percent) at the foul line. The Tritons had just six assists on 15 made baskets. They turned the ball over 17 times.
  The Tars would control this one from start to finish. After eight minutes Rollins would jump out to a 12-6 lead. Brett Chance would hit one of his three 3-pointers to spark a 13-1 run that would stretch the Tar lead to 25-7.  The Tars would lead 35-13 heading  to the locker room. The Tritons went just 4 of 22 shooting in the opening half, while the Tars were 14-28.
  The second half saw the Tritons trim the lead to 20 but that is as close as they would get. The Tars would lead by as many as 40 (62-22) with 9:53 left.
  The Tars will take a week off for Finals before returning to action Friday when they take on Southeastern University.

Tars Host Eckerd In SSC Opener Saturday.

The Rollins College Tars (3-1) riding a three game win streak host the Eckerd College Tritons in the Sunshine State Conference opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Warden Arena in Winter Park.  The Tritons come in with a perfect 2-0 record on the young season.
   After losing the season opener 58-50 to Warner University the Tars have won the last three by an average of 28 points a contest.  Rollins rolled past Puerto Rico Bayamon 71-57 and Puerto Rico Rio-Piedras  87-53 before pounding Palm Beach Atlantic 89-54 on Wednesday evening.  The Tars have scored 82 points a contest in the three game win streak after scoring just 50 in the season opener. Brett Chance is leading the Tars in scoring. Chance is putting up 12 points a game, Dave Diakite is scoring 11.5 points a night and grabbing 5.8 rebounds a game. Kyle McClanahan has put up 10.3 points, five rebounds, five assists and 1.6 steals a game.
  The Tars have been very good on both the defensive end and rebounding in the early going. They are allowing just 56 points a game on the defensive end and are +8.3 rebounds a night in the season's first four games.  On offense the Tars have nailed 9.3 3-pointers a game while averaging 69.3 points per game.
  Eckerd has played just two games thus far and have a perfect 2-0 record. In the opening two games, a Thanksgiving tournament the Tritons knocked off Puerto Rico Bayamon 72-58 and held off a late rally to beat Clark-Atlanta 72-70.
  Jerrick Stevenson leads the Tritons averaging 12.5 points a game. Malcolm Bruner Jr. and Woody Taylor are putting up 11.5 points a contest while Alex Bodney scores 10.5 points a night. The Tritons lead the SSC in 3-point percentage making 48 percent of it's shots from the 3-point line. Eckerd and Tampa are the lone undefeated teams remaining in the Sunshine State Conference.
The line: Eckerd by 1

Tars Roll Past PBA.

The Rollins College Tars headed to Rubin Arena on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic on Wednesday for a road test against the Sailfish. The Tars rolled past PBA 89-54.
  The Tars won a third straight game and improved to 3-1 on the season. Four Tars posted double figures on the evening. Adam Allen drained four 3-pointers en route to a 18 point, 7 rebound effort. Kyle McClanahan stuffed the stat sheet. The transfer from Florida and Winter Park high product netted 15 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out four assists and had three steals. Brett Chance also scored in double figures adding 13 points.  Mitch Woods notched 10 points on the evening.  The Tars shot 56 percent from the field and hit eight of 21 from the 3-point line. The Tars went 23-32 (72 percent) from the foul line. Rollins dominated the boards 43-27. They had 19 assists and 17 turnovers.
    Palm Beach Atlantic had just one player score in double figures. Marcus Hardy led the way with 14 points on 5 of 17 shooting.  Jonathan Kreidt added nine points, while Matthew Gierl added eight. PBA shot 32 percent from the floor and hit just 4 of 29 from the 3-point line.  The Sailfish were 8 of 13 at the free throw line. They had assists and 16 turnovers.
  Both teams got off to a slow start on the offensive end and baskets were hard to come back. The Tars would lead 7-6 after a Allen jumper nearly five minutes in. PBA would fight back and tie the game at 8 briefly. The Tars would answer with a 19-4 spurt that would give them a 27-12 lead with 9:10 left in the opening half. The Tars would stretch the lead to 17 before PBA would cut it back to eight. The Tars would control the last five minutes of the half and lead at the half 45-28.
  The Tars would control the second half. They led by as many as 36 before posting the 35 point win. All 18 of Allen's points came in the opening stanza. Chance would score 8 of his 13 in the half.
  Rollins will open conference play Saturday when they battle the Eckerd College Tritons at 4 PM. Eckerd is 2-0 on the season. The Tritons are tabbed to come in third in the Sunshine State Conference. The Tars are picked fourth. As always you can catch all the action on Rollins Sports.com and 91.5 FM WPRK Winter Park.

Tars Face First Road Test Wednesday.

The Rollins College Tars (2-1) will head to Rubin Arena in Palm Beach for the first road game of the young season on Wednesday evening.
  The Tars come in off a two game sweep of the Puerto Rican schools, and should be fresh after a seven day Thanksgiving break. The Tars fell to Warner University in the opener before the sweep over Puerto Rico Bayamon and Rio Piedras. A pair of Tars are scoring in double figures on the young season. Dave Diakite (13.0 ppg) and Brett Chance (11.7 ppg) lead Rollins. Kyle McClanahan leads the Tars in minutes played at 31 a night.  McClanahan averages 8.7 points, five rebounds and 5.3 assists a game.  Mitch Woods has been the Tars best shooter early on. The transfer from Appalaichain State is putting up 9.7 points a game. Woods is shooting 58 percent from the field and a red hot seven of nine from the 3-point line.
  The Sailfish come in with a record of 1-4 on the season. PBA has already played a pair of opponents from the Sunshine State conference. The Sailfish won 72-71 versus Lynn but fell to Tampa 85-74. Wednesday's game will be the home opener for the Sailfish. Three players average double figures on the young season for PBA. Marcus Hardy leads the way at 20.8 a night, to go along with eight rebounds and four blocks a contest. Dante Valentine is  scoring 17.7 per game while Christian Martinez scores 16 a game.
The line: Tars by 9

Tars Roll Past Gullitos.

The Rollins College Tars improved to 2-1 Wednesday with a 87-53 win over Puerto Rico Rio Piedras (1-3) at Warden Arena.
    Dave Diakite led the way for the Tars with 16 points, while Brett Chance added 15. Adam Allen scored 13 off the bench. Every Tar who dressed on Wednesday afternoon got into the scoring column. The Tars shot 46 percent from the field and were 12-29 (41 percent) from the 3-point line. The Tars shot 73 percent (19-26) from the foul line. Rollins dominated the boards, winning 42-24.
  Hector Maldonado led a pair of players in double figures with 23 points. Enrique Tech added 11 points on five of five shooting.
  The Tars jumped out to a 15-5 lead early after a pair of Mitch Woods 3-pointers. The Tars stretched that lead to 34-17 as Brett Chance knocked down a couple of three's. The Tars would lead by as many as 19 (38-19) in the opening half. It was 40-24 Tars going into the locker room.
  The Tars would come out and go on a 13-4 run capped off by a Diakite to McClanahan alley oop to make it 53-28. The Tars would removed all doubt with a 12-2 run to stretch the lead to 35 (69-34) with six minutes to go. Piedras would not get any closer than 28 the rest of the way as the Tars cruised to victory.
  The Tars wil be back in action a week from today when they travel to Palm Beach Atlantic to tangle with the Sailfish. You can catch all the action live on WPRK 91.5 FM Winter Park and worldwide at RollinsSports.com. Tip time is set for 7 PM.

Tars even record with win over Bayamon.

The Rollins Tars (1-1) bounced back from a poor shooting performance Friday evening, with a solid display on Monday. The Tars had all five starters score in double figures as they knocked off Puerto Rico Bayamon (1-3) 71-57.
  Mitch Woods paced the Tars with 18 points, while Kyle McClanahan tallied 11 points, six assists and three steals. Brett Chance also netted 11 for the Tars. Jeff Dirkin and Dave Diakite rounded out the double digit scorers with 10 points each.
 The Tars shot the ball well Monday. They shot at a 50 percent clip from the field, and hit 10 of 18 from the 3-point line. The Tars dominated the boards, out rebounding Bayamon 36-21.
  The Cowboys lost for the second straight time to a Sunshine State conference opponent. Victor Caratini led the Cowboys with 15 points while Jeshua Ayala netted 12 points to go along with six boards.
  The Tars jumped out early and took a 4-0 lead out of the gate. After Bayamon battled back to tie the game the Tars ran off six straight to lead 17-11 midway thru the first half. The Tars would stretch the lead to 43-27 at halftime behind some hot shooting from the 3-point line.
  The Tars would stretch the lead to 55-38 and then make it 58-41 with just over 12 and a half minutes to go. The Cowboys would make one last run to get it to a ten point game but that is as close as they would get.
  The Tars will be back in action Wednesday when they host Puerto Rico Rio Piedras. Tip time is set for noon. As always you can catch all the action on 91.5 WPRK Winter Park and worldwide at RollinsSports.com

Tars To Host Bayamon Monday.

The Rollins Tars coming off a 58-50 loss versus Warner on Friday night will host Puerto Rico Bayamon at Warden Arena Monday night.
 The Tars (0-1) could not find the mark from the 3-point line (6-24) or from the field (28 percent) in the opening loss. Dave Diakite led the way with 13 points, while Brett Chance and Kyle McClanahan added nine each.
  Bayamon comes in coming off a 85-77 loss to Florida Tech Friday night. The Cowboys (1-2) are led by the dynamic duo of Carlos Ramos (19.0 ppg) and Victor Caratini (13 a game). The Cowboys shot 57 percent in the loss to Tech on Friday. The Cowboys  split a pair of games to open the season. They defeated St.Thomas Aquinas 68-64, but fell to Belmont Abbey 59-57.
The line: Rollins by 8

Cold Shooting Tars Drop Opener.

The Rollins College Tars could not shake a poor shooting performance on Friday night at Warden Arena and fell to Warner University 58-50. Perhaps it was the fact that it was the Tars first game of the year and the sixth for the Royals. With the win the Royals improved to 5-1. The Tars fell to 0-1 with the loss.
  Three players scored in double figures for the Royals. Chiverton Halstead paced Warner with 14 points on the evening, while Bryce Kachinski and Ray Victor had 10 points each. Brian St.Fort had a big game as well. He scored nine points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots.
  The lone Tar in double figures was Dave Diakite who tallied 13 points on the evening. Kyle McClanahan added nine points, six rebounds three assists and four steals. Brett Chance also chipped in nine points for the hosts.
  The game started as a see-saw affair. Neither team led by more than five in the game's first 15 minutes. With 7:11 left it would be 19-14 Tars after a Dave Diakite slam.
  Warner would then reel off the next 16 points and take a 30-19 lead after a Halstead 3-pointer. The Tars would answer and score the last seven points of the half to cut the lead to 30-26.
  The Tars would look to be in control in the second half and took a 46-40 lead on a put back by Lukas Winegarner to stretch the lead to six (46-40) with just over seven minutes left.  The Tars would not score there next bucket until 2:21 remained. The 5:50 second drought saw the Tars six point lead become a four point deficit (51-47) after a 11-1 Royals run. The Royals would seal the victory making seven of eight free throws to get the 58-50 win.
  On the evening the Royals shot 33 percent to just 28 percent for the Tars. Neither team shot well from long range, Warner shot 31 percent (9-29) to the Tars 25 percent (6-24). The Royals shot 79 percent at the foul line to 63 percent for the Tars. Warner won the battle on the boards 43-39. The Tars had eight assists, while the Royals had 12. The Tars turned the ball over 15 times to the Royals 20.
  The Tars will look to bounce back Monday when they host Puerto Rico Bayamon. Tip time at Warden Arena is set for 7:30 PM. As always you can catch the action worlwide on RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 WPRK Winter Park.

Tars Host Warner Friday.

The Rollins Tars will open the regular season and home portions of their 2012-13 schedule when they host the Warner University Royals on Friday night at Warden Arena.
 The Tars played one exhibition game at Lawrence Joel Coliseum. It was a 73-66 loss to Wake Forest. The Tars have six DI transfers on this season's squad. Dave Diakite is the team's leading returning scorer at 10.2 points a game. The team features six DI transfers. Mitch Woods (Appalachain State) led the Tars vs Wake with 14 points. Former Florida Gators Kyle McClanahan and Adam Allen had 13 and 12 points respectively for Rollins. The Tars were tabbed to finish fourth in the preseason Sunshine State Conference standings. Saint Leo was picked to win the conference. Florida Southern and Eckerd were picked second and third in the league.
  Warner comes into the contest having played five games already. The Royals are 4-1 on the season. The lone Royals loss was against Sterling College. The high powered offense for Warner averages 90 points a game. Mark St.Fort is off to a great start for the Royals. St.Fort comes into Friday's contest averaging 22.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Ian Wilhelm averages 18.6 points a night including four 3-pointers a contest.
The line: Rollins by 20

Fast Start Not Enough For Tars.

The Rollins College Tars gave the Wake Forest Demon Deacons fits on Friday night at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum before falling 73-66 to the Demon Deacons in exhibition play.
  Wake had four players score in double figures as they won for the third time in as many tries in exhibition play. Travis McKie led the way for Wake with 17 points to lead all scorers, C.J Harris and Codi Miller-McIntyre  chipped  in 12 points each.  Devin Thomas rounded out the double figure scorers with 10 points.
  The Tars posted three players in double digits in scoring. Mitch Woods led the way with 14 points, Kyle McClanahan added 13, and Adam Allen chipped in 12. The Tars dropped what was the only exhibition contest of there season.
  Both teams shot 43 percent from the floor. The Deacons were just 3-16 (19 percent) from the 3-point line, while the Tars went 8-21 (38 percent).  Both teams struggled at the foul line. The Tars shot 60 percent (12-20), while the Demon Deacons were 18-29 (62 percent).  The rebounding battle was dead even at 37 rebounds each. The Tars had 23 turnovers to 13 for Wake Forest. Madison Jones came up big on the defensive end for Wake Forest as he tallied seven of the Demon Deacons 15 steals.
   Rollins got off to a fast start and scored the game's first nine points. Adam Allen nailed a 3-pointer to cap off the 9-0 Tars run in the game's first three minutes. Seven minutes in the Tars would hold a 16-6 lead after a pair of Kyle McClanahan free throws. Wake Forest would then go on a 14-3 run to take a 20-19 lead on a dunk by Miller-McIntyre with 6:36 in the half. Wake would get a free throw with 33 seconds left to take a five point lead (28-23). The Tars would answer with a McClanahan jumper at the buzzer to make it 28-25 at the half.
  The Demon Deacons came out hot in the second half and stretched the lead to 42-32 after three minutes. Halfway thru the second half a Aaron Rountree 3-pointer would make it 52-37 Wake Forest. The Tars would rally late behind some hot 3-point shooting. It would be 71-66 Wake with 15 seconds left. That would be as close as the Tars would get.
 Rollins will open the regular season on November 16th when they battle Warner University. Wake will open the season on November 9th when they take on Radford.

Tars Travel To Winston Salem Friday.

The Rollins College Tars will open the 2012-13 season with an exhibition game at Wake Forest on Friday evening at 7 PM.
 The contest will be the first and only exhibition game for the Tars this season. Rollins is coming off a disappointing 16-11 campaign a year ago. Dave Diakite is the top returning scorer for the Tars at 10.2 points per game. Brett Chance returns after averaging seven game a season ago. Kyle McClanahan and Adam Allen (University of Florida), Lukas Winegarner (Radford) and Mitch Woods (Applachain State) give the Tars a grand total of six division I transfers this season. Chance is in his third season at Rollins after playing at Canisius.
  Tom Klusman has 590 wins and will hit another large milestone this upcoming season. Klusman will become just the fifth active coach in DII with 600 wins. The other four are:
1. Herb McGee (Philadelphia) 941- 375
2. Bob Chipman (Washburn (721- 296)
3. Tom Smith (Missouri Western State) 608-446
4. Richard Shmidt (Tampa) 603- 300
5. Tom Klusman (Rollins) 590-330

Wake Forest will be playing their third and final exhibition game on Friday evening. The first two victories were a 84-79 win over Brock University and a 88-80 win over Ryerson. The Demon Deacons are picked to finish tenth in the preseason ACC poll. C.J Harris (16.7 ppg) and Travis McKie (16.1 ppg) return for Wake. The top two scorers from a year ago are the only two returning starters. Eight letter winner's from last season have departed. The Deacons were 13-18 a year ago.
The line: Wake by 21

Tars Release Schedule for 2012-13.

The Rollins Tars will look to bounce back from a tough end to the 2011-12 hoops season when they return to action on November 2nd. The Tars will open the 2012-13 season with a exhibition game in Winston Salem, North Carolina where they will due battle with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
  The Tars lose four of five starters from last year's squad that compiled a 16-11 record. Dave Diakite is the only returning member from the starting five of a year ago.  The Tars also return Brett Chance, Trip McFall and Jeff Dirkin who have at least one year of playing experience.
  Four Division I transfers head to Winter Park to play under coaches Tom Klusman, Brad Ash and Kyle Frakes. Kyle McClanahan and Adam Allen from the University of Florida, Lukas Winegarner from Radford and Mitch Woods of Appalachian State join the Rollins program.
  Klusman needs just nine wins to reach 600 for his career. Brad Ash enters his 12th year while Kyle Frakes will enter his 24th season as a men's basketball assistant. Ian Scott will be this year's graduate assistant after a stellar four year playing career that included leading the Sunshine State conference in steals in 2010.
   The Tars will open the season with the first meeting versus Wake since 1984. Wake was a 58-55 winner in that contest. Some other highlights of the schedule will be a conference opener at home versus Eckerd to open the conference slate on December 1st. The Tars will head to Las Vegas and play in a new venue. Rollins will join Abilene Christian, Florida Tech and Cameron at the Doolittle Center in the Las Vegas Dessert classic on December 15th and 16th. The calendar year will end with the Winter Park Rotary Tangerine Tournament. Mansfield, Flagler and Shaw will join the Tars in the 38th annual Tangerine tournament. The Tars will then play the traditional conference schedule the rest of the way.
 For the first time since 2001 the Sunshine State Conference will hold the conference tournament at a neutral site. It will be held from March 6-10 at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. For the first time since 2007 all nine members of the conference will qualify for the tournament.
 March 16-19 will be the Division II South regional held  at campus sites. The Division II national semifinals will be held in Louisville March 21-24. The National Championship game will be played Sunday April 7th at Phillips Arena in Atlanta. It will coincide with the NCAA Final Four in Atlanta the same weekend.
 Below is the season schedule. As always you can find everything Rollins at RollinsSports.com, and you can also catch all the action on RollinsSports.TV and WPRK 91.5 FM WPRK Winter Park. Jim "Shooter" Ferro, Nate Weyant, and Robert Seagull will give you the call of the games.
 
November
2 @ Wake Forest (Exhibition)
16 vs Warner
19 Puerto Rice Bayamon
21 vs Puerto Rico Rio Piedras
28 @Palm Beach Atlantic

December
1 vs Eckerd
7 vs Southeastern
15 vs Abeline Christian in Las Vegas
16 vs Cameron in Las Vegas
29 vs Mansfield
30 Consolation/Championship

January
5 @Tampa
9 @Florida Tech
12 vs Palm Beach Atlantic
16 vs Nova Southeastern
19 vs Lynn
23 @Barry
26 @Saint Leo
30 vs Florida Southern

February
2@Eckerd
6 vs Tampa
13 vs Florida Tech
16 @Lynn
20@Nova Southeastern
23 vs Saint Leo
27 vs Barry

March
2 @Florida Southern
6-10 Sunshine State Conference Tournament at Silver Spurs Arena (Kissimmee)
16-19 NCAA Division II South Regional
21-24 NCAA Division II Semifinals (Louisville)

April
7 NCAA Division II National Championship Game (Phillips Arena)

Ten Things Tars 2011-12!

The UPS:
1. The Start. The Tars started out the season 7-0. They came out of the box with a seven game win streak and got as high as #10 in the country in the NABC Division II Rankings.
2. The Freshman: You can not say enough about the job that Scott Schuette, Chris Uhle and Jeff Dirkin did this season. Schuette had a much more increased role than expected due to the injury to Brett Chance mid way thru the season. Uhle hit some big 3-pointers when they were really needed and Dirkin was solid. Dirkin did make a couple of starts late in the season.
3. The Win at Jenkins: The Tars did something they had not done since 2007 this season when they defeated Florida Southern on there home floor.
4. Chris Malcolm: The Senior transfer from Winthrop had a fine season. He was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Sunshine State Conference and made second team all conference. The Senior also set the school's all time record in blocked shots (passing Craig Reichel).
5. Being Competitive: Despite being 16-11 the Tars were in most games. They only got blown out on a couple of occasions.

The Downs:
1. The Inconsistency: The Tars were very inconsistent all year long. Especially in the past 20 games when they were only 9-11.
2 . The Conference as a whole. The Tars were not able to take advantage of a conference that was down this season. Despite it being a down year for the league, four teams (Eckerd, Saint Leo, Florida Southern and Florida Tech) made the NCAA DII South Regional.
3. The Trip to Vegas. Many will tell you this is when they knew this Tar team was not as good as the ones in the past. Traditionally a very good trip for Rollins, the Tars were defeated soundly by both Western and Central Washington in Las Vegas.
4. The Expectations: The Tars never really lived up to the hype this season. After being picked to win the conference in the preseason, it was a struggle to get to 9-7. Eventually the Tars would fall to Florida Southern in the Tournament Quarterfinals (The Mocs did eventually win the tournament after blowing out regular season champ Florida Tech and then holding off Saint Leo in the title game.
5. The Tangerine Tournament: If the average fan was looking for a weekend that summed up the Tars season it was the Rotary Tangerine Tournament. The Tars would lose by 15 to Lake Erie at home and then bounce back to knock off California (PA).
 

3-point Barrage Sinks Tars in SSC Tourney Opener.

Rollins and Florida Southern were tied at 26 at the half of the opener of the Sunshine State Conference tournament at Warden Arena Wednesday night. It looked to be like it was going to be another in a long line of great games in the rivalry of the two teams who have been playing each other the longest in the conference. The Mocs had other ideas. Behind red hot 3-point shooting in the second half from Seth Evans and Kevin Capers, the Mocs advanced to the tournament semifinals with a 77-63 win over the Tars.
  With the win the Mocs improved to 18-9 on the season and defeated the Tars for the first time in three attempts this season. Seth Evans poured in a game high 27 points including a perfect 10 of 10 at the foul line. Brett Bailey added 16, and Kevin Capers had 13 for the Mocs.  The Mocs shot 49 percent from the field and nine of 20 from the 3-point line (7-11 in the second half). The Mocs were 16-21 at the free throw line and had 17 assists as opposed to just eight turnovers.
  The Tars ended the season with a record of 16-11.  They had three players tally double figures on the night. Brett Chance led the way with 16 points, Myk Brown added 13, and Dave Diakite scored 12.  The Tars shot 44 percent from the floor in the game and just 35 percent (8-23) from the 3-point line. Rollins made all 15 of there attempts at the free throw line. The Tars won the battle of the boards 31-26. The Tars had 8 assists and turned the ball over 19 times.
 The Mocs jumped out of the gates quickly and led 12-3 early on. It was 20-9 FSC before the Tars went on a 11-0 run to tie the game at 20. The Tars took the first and only lead they would have in the game 24-22 after a Myk Brown three with just under a minute in the opening half. Kevin Capers would score right before the half to tie the game going into the locker room.
  The second half started with the Mocs opening up a eight point lead (48-40). The Tars would get a pair of three's from Chris Uhle to get to within 47-43 with 9:17 to go. That is as close as the Tars would get as Evans and Capers would catch fire in the second half.
 With the win FSC will head home to the Jenkins Field House to face top seeded Florida Tech Saturday. The loss means this will be the first year in three season the Tars will not participate in the NCAA South Regional. It also stops the Tars quest of winning the conference tournament at two seasons.
  Other Scores:
Florida Tech 98 Lynn 92 (3 OT)
Eckerd 71 Barry 62
Saint Leo 62 Nova Southeastern 57
Saturday's Semifinals:
(5) Florida Southern vs (1) Florida Tech
(3) Saint Leo vs (2) Eckerd
 

Tars Begin Quest For Three Peat Wednesday.

The fourth seeded Rollins College Tars, winners of the last two Sunshine State Conference Tournament titles begin their quest for a third straight Wednesday when they host Florida Southern at 7:30 . The Tars are looking to right the ship after a rough end to the season, that saw them go 2-5. After starting out the season 7-0, the Tars went just 9-10 the rest of the way. Rollins has had little success both as the number four seed (3-7) and against Florida Southern (0-11). The Tars did sweep a pair of meeting with the Mocs in the regular season. A year ago, the Tars rode the hot hand of Most Outstanding Player Nick Wolf to the tournament title. Myk Brown is the Tars leading scorer at 12.9 points a contest, Chris Malcolm stuffs the stat sheet with 11 points, more than six rebounds and a SSC leading 2.6 blocks a game. Malcolm is the all-time Tar leader in blocked shots. Dave Diakite puts up 10.2 points a night. Ian Scott is the only Tar who started all 26 games this season. The Senior from Mount Dora puts up 8.2 points and four assists a game.
 Florida Southern had the same record (9-7) as Rollins on the SSC season but was the fifth seed by virtue of the two losses to the Tars. The Mocs have four players averaging double numbers on the season. Seth Evans leads the way at 17.3 points per game, Brett Bailey adds 14.5 a night. Kevin Capers (14.3 a game) had a season high 30 in 84-78 loss in Winter Park. Dominic Lane puts in 12 a game to round out the double digit scorers. The Mocs average 81.5 a game, but give up nearly 76 (75.7 a contest). The winner will advance to Saturday's semifinals hosted by Florida Southern  to face the winner of top seeded Florida Tech vs eighth seeded Lynn As always you can catch the Tars broadcast on WPRK Winter Park and www.RollinsSports.com
with Jim "Shooter" Ferro and Robert Seagull.
Line: Even
Other SSC Tournament Lines:
(8) Lynn +11 at (1) Florida Tech
(7) Barry +7.5 at (2) Eckerd
(6) Nova Southeastern +10.5 at (3) Saint Leo
South Region Rankings (updated 2/28)
1. Alabama Huntsville
2. Christian Brothers
3. West Georgia
4. Florida Tech
5. Eckerd
6. West Florida
7. Saint Leo
8. North Alabama
9. Tuskegee
10. Leymoyne-Owen
2.

Tars Drop Finale to Nova.

Despite 27 points from Myk Brown the Rollins College Tars (16-10 9-7 SSC) fell 90-79 to the the Sharks of Nova Southeastern at the "Shark Tank" Saturday afternoon. Chris Malcolm added 18 points and seven rebounds for the Tars.
 Nova improved to 13-13 overall and 7-9 in the SSC with the win. Three Sharks tallied double numbers on the day. Teddy Tassy led NSU with 25 points, Sean Mullan had 19 and Shaun Pratl had 16 for the Sharks.
 The Tars jumped out to the early lead and led 12-8 after the game's first five minutes. NSU fought back and tied the game at 20 before a 5-0 Tar run gave them a 25-20 advantage at 7:13 in the opening half. NSU would fight back again and lead 32-31 with 1:48 in the opening half. Jeff Dirkin hit a three for the Tars to give them a 34-32 lead. NSU would get a huge momentum boost at the first half buzzer as Tim Traversa's three would give the Sharks a 35-34 lead at the half.
  The Tars played a solid opening ten minutes of the second half and led 52-49 with 10 minutes to go. Then the Sharks would use a 12-0 run to take a 73-57 lead with 5:42 to go. The Tars would not go quietly and would get to within five with 3:41 to play but NSU would use solid foul shooting late to seal it.
 Rollins shot 61 percent in the opening half and 45 percent in the game.  Nova shot 63 percent int he second stanza and 52 percent in the contest. Each team tallied 30 rebounds.
  The Tars will host Florida Southern Wednesday night in the first round of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament at Warden Arena. You can catch all the action on WPRK Winter Park and www.rollinssports.com
 SSC Tournament Pairings (All games to be played Wednesday February 28th)
No.8 Lynn at No.1 Florida Tech  7 PM
No.5 Florida Southern at No.4 Rollins 7:30 PM
No.7 Lynn at No.2 Eckerd 7:30 PM
No.6 Nova Southeastern at No.3 Saint Leo 7 PM

Tars Look To Secure Home Court Saturday.

The Rollins College Tars will look to secure home court advantage in the first round of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament when they travel to the Don Taft University Center to take on the Sharks of Nova Southeastern Saturday.
 The Tars have won just twice in the last six contests but will do no worse than the fourth seed in next week's conference tournament with a win. The Tars (16-9 9-6 SSC) are coming off a 57-47 win over Barry in Miami Shores Wednesday, Brett Chance had a career high 18 points starting in the place of Jeremy Sharpe. Ian Scott had a career high 10 rebounds in the win. Myk Brown also had a solid game netting 16. The Tars can secure the third seed with a win and a loss by Saint Leo at Barry. Florida Tech can secure the regular season title with a win over Tampa. Eckerd sits in the second spot and can secure the league title with a win and a FIT loss. The Tars are led by 12.3 points a game for Myk Brown, Chris Malcolm posts 12.3 points a game. Ian Scott is the only Tar to play and start all 25 games this season. The Tars are sixth offensively putting up 67 points a game. On the defensive end the visitors from Winter Park allow 66.8 a contest.
  The Sharks come in with a 6-8 record in the league and 12-13 overall. The Sharks could finish as high as a sixth seed and as low as eighth in the conference tournament which begins Wednesday.  NSU has three players scoring in double figures on the season. Robb Huntington (11.3 ppg), Teddy Tassy (11 a game) and Iran Hollis (10 a game) post double numbers. The Sharks are coming off a two point win on Wednesday at Lynn. Nova is shooting a league best 47 percent from the field and 72 percent at the foul line. NSU scores 69 a game while giving up 66.7.
 The Line: Rollins by 1
Other Lines: Southern by 7.5 at Palm Beach Atlantic
Saint Leo by 4 at Barry
Eckerd by 11 vs Lynn
Florida Tech by 9 at Tampa
SSC Standings:
Florida Tech 11-4 (20-5)
Eckerd 10-5 (18-7)
Saint Leo 9-6 (15-10)
Rollins 9-6 (16-9)
Florida Southern 9-7 (16-9)
Lynn 6-9 (13-14)
Nova Southeastern 6-9 (12-13)
Barry 6-9 (12-15)
Tampa 2-13 (6-19)
South Regional Rankings:
1. Alabama Huntsville
2. Christian Brothers
3. Eckerd
4. Florida Tech
5. West Georgia
6. West Florida
7. Saint Leo
8. Benedict
9. North Alabama
10. Rollins

Chance, Brown Lead Tars Past Barry.

Brett Chance had a career night Wednesday. The Red Shirt Junior scored 18 points as Rollins knocked off Barry 57-47 in Miami Shores, Florida. Myk Brown added 16 for a Tars team that only suited up seven players. The Tars with the win improved to 16-9 overall and 9-6 in the SSC. Barry fell to 12-15 and 6-9 in the conference. The Tars shot 41 percent from the field and hit 8 of 24 from the 3-point line. The Tars were nearly automatic, going 11 of 12 at the foul line.  The Tars out rebounded Barry 40-37. Rollins had 11 assists to go along with 14 turnovers.
 For Barry, a pair of players scored in double figures. Jermaine Edwards led the way with 14 points, while Evan White added 13. Bryan Van Cott netted nine for the hosts. The Bucs shot 28 percent from the field and hit just 6-29 from the 3-point line. BU struggled at the foul line going just 7-15. They had seven assists and seven turnovers.
  The Tars were the team that got off to the quick start in this one. The visitors from Winter Park jumped out to a 14-6 lead midway thru the first half. Barry went on a run and cut the lead to 19-17 with 6:20 in the opening half. The Tars closed on a 10-1 run to take a 29-18 lead into the locker room.
 The second half was hard fought. The Tars led by 12 three different times before the Bucs fought back. Barry cut the lead to four (43-39) with four minutes left. The Tars got a chance three and some clutch foul shooting late to get a much needed road win.
  Rollins will close out the regular season Saturday when they travel to Fort Lauderdale to take on Nova Southeastern. You can catch all the action from the Don Taft University Center on WPRK Winter Park and worldwide on RollinsSports.com
Other SSC scores:
Nova Southeastern 61 Lynn 59
Florida Southern 85 Tampa 76
Saint Leo 58 Eckerd 49
Florida Tech 85 Palm Beach Atlantic 75
SSC Standings:
Florida Tech 11-4 (20-5)
Eckerd 10-5 (18-7)
Rollins 9-6 (16-9)
Saint Leo 9-6  (15-10)
Florida Southern 9-7 (16-9)
Lynn 6-9 (13-14)
Nova Southeastern 6-9 (12-13)
Barry 6-9 (12-15)
Tampa 2-13 (6-19)
South Regional Rankings (updated Wednesday 2/22)
1. Alabama Huntsville
2. Christian Brothers
3. Eckerd
4. Florida Tech
5. West Georgia
6. West Florida
7. Saint Leo
8. Benedict
9. North Alabama
10.Rollins

Panthers Dump Tars on Senior Day.

The Florida Tech Panthers 19-5 (11-4 SSC) used a big second half to complete a season sweep of Rollins on Senior day at Warden Arena. The win coupled with Eckerd's two point loss to Barry earlier in the day gave the Panthers first place in the SSC. After trailing by six at the half, the Panthers dominated the second half to get the 71-56 win. Simon Cummings had a big game with 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Julius Reed added 16 points and Derek Helleman had 13 for FIT.
  The Tars fell to 15-9 on the year and 8-6 in the SSC. Myk Brown led the Tars with 17 points. Chris Malcolm continued his recent surge with 12 points and five blocks. Malcolm passed Craig Reichel for the all time leader in Tar history in blocked shots. The Tars shot 37 percent for the game including only 22 percent in the second half. FIT shot 41 percent from the field in the game. FIT won the rebounding battle 36-29. The Tars had 11 turnovers to seven for the Panthers.
  The Tars will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to Miami to take on Barry. Tip time is set for 7:30 PM and you can catch all the action on RollinsSports.com
Other SSC Scores:
Barry 68 Eckerd 66
Saint Leo 61 Nova Southeastern 49
Florida Southern 79 Lynn 68
SSC Standings:
Florida Tech 11-4 (19-5)
Eckerd 10-4 (18-6)
Saint Leo 8-6 (14-10)
Rollins 8-6 (15-9)
Florida Southern 8-7 (15-9)
Lynn 6-8 (13-13)
Barry 6-8 (12-14)
Nova Southeastern 5-9 (11-13)
Tampa 2-12 (6-18)

Tars Tangle With Panthers on Senior Day Saturday.

The Rollins College Tars (15-8 8-5 SSC) fresh off a 61-58 win over Lynn Wednesday will battle the Florida Tech Panthers at Warden Arena.  The Tars four Seniors Jeremy Sharpe, Ian Scott, Chris Malcolm and Myk Brown will be honored prior to the game. Malcolm led the Tars in the win Wednesday as he scored 21 points. The transfer from Winthrop was 5 of 5 from the field and 9 of 11 at the line in the game. Malcolm is averaging 11 points, 6.5 rebounds and a SSC leading 2.6 blocks a night.  Malcolm needs two blocks to pass Craig Reichel for the all-time Tar lead. Jeremy Sharpe is leading the Tars at 13.1 points a contest. The Senior from Saint Louis has scored 1,037 points in his Tar career. Myk Brown comes in putting up 11.9 a game. The transfer from VCU has scored 1,137 points in his Rollins career. Ian Scott leads the SSC at four assists a game.  The Tars come into the game averaging 68 points a game, they give up 67 a night. The Tars sit third in the SSC and desperately need a win to have any shot at securing the second spot with three games remaining including Saturday.
  Florida Tech comes  in second in the SSC and can all but secure the second seed with a win Saturday. FIT 18-5 (10-4 SSC) is riding a four game win streak. The most recent being a 53-46 win over Barry on Wednesday. The Panthers put up 76 points a game as a team. They allow 68 a contest. The Panthers are just 3-4 on the road this season. Simon Cummings leads the Panthers averaging 13 points a contest.
The line: FIT by 1
Other Lines:
Eckerd by 11 vs Barry
Florida Southern by 1 at Lynn
Saint Leo by 9 vs Nova Southeastern
SSC Standings:
Eckerd 10-3 (18-5)
Florida Tech 10-4 (18-5)
Rollins 8-5 (15-8)
Saint Leo 7-6 (13-10)
Florida Southern 7-7 (14-9)
Lynn 6-7 (13-12)
Nova Southeastern 5-8 (11-12)
Barry 5-8 (11-14)
Tampa 2-12 (6-18)
NCAA South Region Rankings (Released Wednesday)
1.Christian Brothers 15-4
2. Alabama Huntsville 16-3
3. Eckerd 14-5
4. West Georgia 15-6
5. Florida Tech 16-5
6. West Florida 13-10
7. Tuskegee 13-8
8. North Alabama 11-9
9. Rollins (14-8)
10. Florida Southern 13-7

 

Tars Get Much Needed Win Wednesday.

The Rollins College Tars snapped a three game losing slide with a hard fought 61-58 win over Lynn at Warden Arena Wednesday. Chris Malcolm poured in a game high 21 points to lead the Tars 15-8 (8-5 SSC). The Senior transfer from Winthrop went 5 of 5 from the floor including a pair of three's. He also added six blocked shots. Malcolm trails Craig Reichel by one rejection to lead the Tars all time. Jeremy Sharpe continued his scoring surge of late with 18 Wednesday, while Myk Brown added 10. The win for the Tars completed a season sweep of Lynn. The Tars shot 40 percent as a team and hit 8 of 19 3-pointers. The Tars were 21-27 at the foul line (78 percent). They had nine  assists to go along with 14 turnovers.
  The loss dropped the Fighting Knights to 13-12 overall (6-7 SSC). Lynn shot 35 percent from the floor and hit just 5 of 26 from the 3-point line. They shot 72 percent (13-18) at the foul line. The Fighting Knights crushed Rollins on the glass 44-25. They had 13 assists and 12 turnovers.
  Rollins was the team that jumped out to the early lead Wednesday. After scoring just 28 points combined in the last two opening halves the Tars took a 16-5 lead nine minutes into this one. Lynn would battle back and get to within three (21-18) with 5:45 in the half. The Tars would close the half with a spurt and lead 35-22 on a Jeremy Sharpe 3-pointer at the buzzer.
  The second half would be hard fought and the Fighting Knights would give Rollins all they could handle. After Lynn got within four, a Jeremy Sharpe dunk would give the Tars a 50-44 lead. The Knights would fight back once again and would have a brief lead (57-56) with 1:36 to go. Malcolm would hit a pair of free throws to give Rollins the lead back. After a defensive stand where Diakite and Malcolm would each block a shot Jeremy Sharpe hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds left. The Tars would then foul DeMarco Fountain who hit one of the two free throws. Diakite would rebound the miss and hit one free throw to get the Tars the big win they desperately needed.
  Other Scores:
Florida Tech 53 Barry 46
Eckerd 73 Tampa 51
Saint Leo 75 Florida Southern 72
Nova Southeastern 68 Palm Beach Atlantic 63
SSC Standings:
Eckerd 10-3 (18-5)
Florida Tech 10-4 (18-5)
Rollins 8-5 (15-8)
Saint Leo 7-6 (13-10)
Florida Southern 7-7 (14-9)
Lynn 6-7  (13-12)
Nova Southeastern 5-8 (11-12)
Barry 5-8 (11-14)
Tampa 2-12 (6-18)

Tars Hope To start Late Season Push Wednesday.

The Rollins College Tars (14-8 7-5 SSC) mired in a three game losing skid look to start a late season push when they welcome the Lynn Fighting Knights to Warden Arena Wednesday night. The Tars are coming off a 71-45 thrashing they took from Saint Leo Saturday. The three game losing skid is the Tars longest in the league in four years. Slow starts have been the Tars achilles  heel in the past two losses. Two games ago Rollins only score 10 points in the opening half and trailed 32-10 at the half before eventually falling to Eckerd.  The last contest against Saint Leo the Tars could only muster 18 first half points and trailed 38-18 at the half. The Tars come in averaging 69 points a game while surrendering 68 a contest. Jeremy Sharpe leads the Tars in scoring. The Senior from Saint Louis puts up 12.9 a night. Myk Brown averages 12 a game, while Dave Diakite puts up 11.1 a contest. Chris Malcolm has been stuffing the stat sheet all season and averages 10.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a game.
 Lynn comes in with a record of 13-11 overall and 6-6 in the Sunshine State Conference. The Fighting Knights are coming off a 80-67 loss to Florida Tech, but have won three of four. Lynn is scoring 71 points a game while giving up 63 a contest. A pair of Fighting Knights average double figures on the season. Josh Garcia puts in 12.2 a contest while Slobodan Miljanic nets 11.7 a game.
 The Line: Rollins by 2
Other Lines: Florida Tech -10 vs Barry
Eckerd -10 At Tampa
Florida Southern -7 vs Saint Leo
Nova Southeastern -7 vs Palm Beach Atlantic
SSC Standings:
Eckerd 9-3 (17-5)
Florida Tech 9-4 (17-5)
Rollins 7-5 (14-8)
Florida Southern 7-6 (14-8)
Saint Leo 6-6 (12-10)
Lynn 6-6 (13-11)
Barry 5- 7 (11-13)
Nova Southeastern 5-8 (10-12)
Tampa 2-11 (6-17)

Lifeless Tars Buried At Home.

The Rollins College Tars were hoping that having the week off before Saturday's game at home against Saint Leo would cure it's ills. The Tars suffered their worst loss of the season in easily it's worst performance of the year losing 71-45. The Tars fell in a 18-1 hole and could never recover. Jeremy Sharpe and Scott Schuette paced the Tars with 14 points each. Rollins (14-8 7-5 SSC) shot a frigid 29 percent in the game. The Tars were just 6-22 from the 3-point line and went 17-26 (65 percent) at the foul line. The Tars had just six assists and turned the ball over 11 times.
  The Lions improved to 12-10 and 6-6 in the SSC. The win was the third straight for Saint Leo and snapped a 28 game losing streak to Rollins. Three Lions scored in double figures on the day. Trent Thomas paced the Lions with 20 points, Regis Schaefer had 17 and Marcus Ruh netted 12. Leo shot 45 percent from the floor and hit 10-27 from the 3-point line. The Lions made good on 63 percent of their shots at the foul line. The Lions dominated the glass 38-25. Leo had 10 assists to go along with 10 turnovers.
 Rollins will be back in action Wednesday when they host Lynn. Tip time is set for 7:30 PM and you can catch all the action on the Tars sports network at RollinsSports.com
  Other SSC Scores:
Nova Southeastern 61 Tampa 44
Florida Tech 80 Lynn 67
Florida Southern 71 Barry 67
Eckerd 78 Palm Beach Atlantic 68
SSC Standings:
Eckerd 9-3 (17-5)
Florida Tech 9-4 (17-5)
Rollins 7-5 (14-8)
Florida Southern 7-6 (14-8)
Saint Leo 6-6 (12-10)
Lynn 6-6 (13-11)
Barry 5-7 (11-13)
Nova Southeastern 5-8 (10-12)
Tampa 2-11 (6-17)

Tars Look to Snap One Streak and Continue Another Saturday.

The Rollins College Tars may have just what the doctor order Saturday at Warden Arena when they host Saint Leo. The Tars have lost two straight and look to avoid losing three straight in the conference season for the first time since 2007-08. Who better to come to town than the Saint Leo Lions? The Tars have won 28 straight against Saint Leo. The first meeting this season was a narrow 56-53 overtime win for Rollins at the Marion Bowman Activities Center.  Rollins comes into the game at 14-7 overall and 7-4 in the SSC. The last two games were losses to Tampa and Eckerd. The Tritons currently lead the league and lead the Tars by 1.5 games for first place. The Tars come in averaging 70 points a game while giving up 67 a contest. Jeremy Sharpe leads the Tars in scoring at 12.8 points a night.  Three other Tar starters post double figures as well. Myk Brown nets 12.6 a night, Dave Diakite (11.6) and Chris Malcolm (10.8) all are averaging double figures.
  Saint Leo comes in riding a two game win streak.  They are 11-10 overall and 5-6 in the SSC. The Lions buried Tampa 71-44 in it's most recent contest Wednesday. Marcus Ruh poured in a game high 23 points for St.Leo. The Lions give up just 60 points a game, while scoring 65. A pair of Lions average double figures. Trent Thomas scores 14.2 points a game, while Marcus Ruh puts up 11.6 points a night.
 The Line: Rollins by 8
 SSC Standings:
Eckerd  9-3 (16-5)
Florida Tech 8-4 (16-5)
Rollins 7-4 (14-7)
Lynn 6-5 (13-10)
Florida Southern 6-6 (13-8)
Saint Leo 5-6 (11-10)
Barry 5-6 (11-12)
Nova Southeastern 4-8 (9-12)
Tampa 2-10 (6-16)
Other Lines:
Florida Southern -2.5 vs Barry
Florida Tech -9 vs Lynn
Eckerd -14 vs Palm Beach Atlantic
Nova Southeastern -7 vs Tampa

Tars Furious Come Back Falls Short.

The Rollins College Tars fell to 14-7 on the year and 7-4 in the SSC with a 71-57 loss at the McArthur Center Saturday.
 Rollins dug themselves a huge hole in the first half. After going nearly 12 minutes in the opening frame without a field goal Rollins fell behind 32-10 at the half. The Tars would be down by 30 with 16 minutes to go before they started a furious come back attempt. The Tars would get within nine with 6:17 to go but that is as close as they would get. Jeremy Sharpe led the Tars in scoring for the third straight game. Sharpe scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half. Myk Brown also scored in double digits with 15, while Chris Malcolm netted nine in the loss. The Tars shot 35 percent for the game, including a dismal 3 of 25 in the opening half. Rollins went 5-23 from the 3-point line (0-11 in the opening half). The Tars made 82 percent from the free throw line. The Tars had eight assists as opposed to 16 turnovers.
  The Tritons win coupled with a Florida Tech loss at Saint Leo gives the Tritons sole possession of first place in the SSC with a 8-3 record (15-5 overall). The win completed a season sweep of the Tars for Eckerd (the other being an OT win in January at Rollins.) Four Tritons scored in double figures in the win Saturday. Darrien Mack led the way with 21 points for EC, Wayne Sears Jr. added 12. Woody Taylor netted 11 and Josh Snodgrass netted 10 for the Tritons. Eckerd stayed perfect in the SSC at home with the win. The Tritons shot 46 percent from the field and hit 5-17 (29 percent) from the 3-point line. The Tritons hit 71 percent from the free throw line (20-28). They edged the Tars on the glass 35-34. The Tritons had 10 assists to go along with 10 turnovers.
  Rollins will get the evening off on Wednesday. They will look to bounce back Saturday when Saint Leo comes to Warden Arena. Tip time is set for 4 PM. You can catch all the action on RollinsSports.com and on 91.5 FM WPRK Winter Park.
Other Scores Saturday:
Tampa 56 Barry 55
Florida Southern 94 Nova Southeastern 85
Saint Leo 73 Florida Tech 63

Tars-Tritons Battle For First Saturday.

The Rollins College Tars (14-6 7-3 SSC) and the Eckerd Tritons (14-5 7-3 SSC) will battle at the McArthur Center in St.Pete on Saturday.  The two teams are two of three teams (Florida Tech the other) tied at 7-3 in the conference.
   The Tars are coming off a 98-88 loss to last place Tampa on Wednesday at Warden Arena. The Spartans came into the contest averaging 54.9 points a game and hung 98 on the hosts.  After starting the season 7-0, the Tars are just 7-6 in the past 13 contests. Jeremy Sharpe led the Tars with 27 points on Wednesday and leads the season box score averaging 12.5 points a game. Myk Brown (12.4), Dave Diakite (12) and Chris Malcolm (10.8 ppg) also score double figures. Ian Scott is the only Tar starter not averaging double figures, but he leads the team in assists at 4.4 a contest. The Tars score 71 points a game as a team, while giving up 67 a night. They fell to second in the league in field goal percentage defense at 40 percent after a poor defensive performance on Wednesday. The Tars are 5-1 in true road games on the season. The only loss was a 14 point defeat at Florida Tech.
   Eckerd comes into the game riding a three game win streak. The Tritons are coming off a 78-72 win over Nova Southeastern at the Don Taft University Center on Wednesday. Lance Kearse poured in a game high 30 points in the win. The Tritons come into the contest averaging 75.7 points per game, while giving up 68.1 per game. Eckerd is 7-1 on the season at the McArthur Center including 4-0 in league play. Lance Kearse paces the Tritons at 17.6 points per game, Wayne Sears Jr.puts in 12.7 a contest and Darrien Mack nets 12.3 per game.
The line:Even
SSC Standings:
Florida Tech 7-3 (15-4)
Eckerd 7-3 (14-5)
Rollins 7-3 (14-6)
Barry 5-4 (11-10)
Florida Southern 5-5 (12-7)
Nova Southeastern 4-6 (9-10)
Saint Leo 3-6 (9-10)
Tampa 1-9 (5-15)
Other Lines:
Barry -4.5@Tampa
Florida Southern -11 vs Nova Southeastern
Florida Tech -3.5 @Saint Leo

Hot Shooting Spartans Knock Off Lackluster Tars.

The Tampa Spartans came into Warden Arena Wednesday with the worst offense in the conference. Rollins led the league in field goal percentage defense. In the next 40 minutes you would never have known had you not seen either team play this season.
  Tampa with the win improved to 5-15 on the season and got there first win in  ten tries in conference play. A Spartan team that was one  of 14 from 3 point land and scored just 36 points in the earlier meeting this season could not miss Wednesday. Coming into the game averaging 54.9 points a night, The Spartans scored 98 in the 98-88 win. Four Tampa players scored double figures Wednesday. Ashton Graham scored 30 points including 6 of 12 from the 3-point line. Callum Townsend added 26 on 6 of 9 from three and Stefan Barfield added 17.  Jon Riles added 10. The Spartans shot 54 percent from the field in the win. They were 16-30 from the 3-point line. The Spartans hit 81 percent from the foul line, had 19 assists and 12 turnovers.
  The Tars fell into a three way tie with Florida Tech and Eckerd at 7-3 in the conference. They had three players score double figures. Jeremy Sharpe poured in 27 points to lead the Tars in scoring for a second straight game. Myk Brown added 22 and Chris Malcolm added 15 along with nine rebounds. The Tars shot 46 percent from the floor and hit 12 of 29 from 3-point land. They were a solid 83 percent (24-29) at the foul line. The Tars edged the Spartans on the boards 30-29. They had 12 assists and 11 turnovers.
  The Spartans jumped out to an early lead and never trailed in the game. They led by as many as 13 (28-15) before the Tars finished the half on a 10-2 spurt led by a pair of Scott Schuette 3-pointers to be down 38-34 at the half. The Spartans 3-point shooting (especially Townsend and Graham) forced Tom Klusman to come out of the usual zone defense the Tars play for several possessions. They went to a triangle and two, before going to a box in one on Townsend.
  The second half was all Tampa after the Tars got within two for the final time. The Spartans would run off the next ten points and put it away.
  Rollins will be back in action Saturday when they travel to the Mcarthur Center and battle the Eckerd Tritons.
Other SSC Scores:
Eckerd 78 Nova Southeastern 72
Barry 60 Palm Beach Atlantic 57
Florida Tech 83 Florida Southern 82 (OT)
Lynn 61 Saint Leo 50

Tars Welcome Struggling Spartans Wednesday.

The Rollins College Tars (14-5 7-2 SSC) are back in action on Wednesday when they host the Tampa Spartans (4-15 0-9 SSC) at Warden Arena.
   The Tars are coming off a thrilling 76-71 road win over Florida Southern. That win coupled with a one point Florida Tech loss to Eckerd  has the Tars sitting alone atop the Sunshine State Conference. The Tars lead both Eckerd and Florida Tech by a game in the standings. The win on Saturday was the Tars first in Lakeland since the 2007 season. Jeremy Sharpe led five Tars in double figures on the evening with 18 points. SSC Player of the week Dave Diakite added 11 points and 11 rebounds to add to his stellar play of late. Chris Malcolm netted 15 to go along with nine rebounds. Scott Schuette came up big with 11 points off the bench after Brett Chance was lost to a knee injury. Myk Brown added 11 points, all in the second half. The Tars come in averaging 70 points a contest as a team while giving up 66 points a ball game. The Tars continue to lead the conference in field goal percentage defense. The defense only allows the opponents to shoot at a 40 percent clip on the season. Four of the five Tar starters come into Wednesday averaging double figures on the season. Diakite leads the way at 12.2 points and 5.3 rebounds a game. Myk Brown and Jeremy Sharpe each put up 11 a night, while Chris Malcolm tallies 10.6 a contest to go along with 7.1 rebounds.
  The Spartans come in on eight game losing skid. They are looking for their first win of the 2012 campaign. The Spartans were a 68-59 loser to Lynn on Saturday. Terrell Pritchett scored 16 to lead the Spartans, while Ashton Graham added 12. Ashton Graham leads the Spartans in scoring on the season at 13.1 points and 4.8 rebounds a contest. Callum Townsend nets 11 a night. The Spartans come into the game averaging just 54.7 points a contest (last in the SSC). They give up 66 points a night.
The line: Rollins by 16
Other Lines:
Florida Tech -7.5 vs Florida Southern
Barry -9.5 vs Palm Beach Atlantic (non league)
Lynn -3.5 vs St.Leo
Eckerd -4.5 at Nova Southeastern

SSC Standings:
Rollins 7-2 (14-5)
Florida Tech 6-3 (14-4)
Eckerd 6-3 (13-5)
Florida Southern 5-4 (12-6)
Barry 5-4 (10-10)
Lynn 4-5 (11-10)
Nova Southeastern 4-5 (9-9)
Saint Leo 3-5 (9-9)
Tampa 0-9 (4-15)

How Sweep It Is! Tars Get Huge Road Win and Season Sweep Saturday.

The Rollins College Tars got arguably their biggest win of the year Saturday when they knocked off Florida Southern 76-71 at Jenkins Field House. With the win the Tars completed a season sweep of the Mocs and won in Lakeland for the first time since 2007. With the win Rollins is alone a top the SSC with a 7-2 record and improves to 14-5 overall. The Mocs dropped to 12-6 and 5-4 in the league.
   Five Rollins players scored in double figures on Saturday led by Jeremy Sharpe's 18 points. Chris Malcolm had 15 points and nine rebounds, while Dave Diakite added a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 2:30 minutes to go. Myk Brown and Scott Schuette netted 11 points each to round out the Tars double digit scorers. The Tars shot 46 percent for the game and hit 48 percent (10-21) of there 3-pointers. The Tars shot 69 percent from the foul line. They won the rebounding battle 38-31. The Tars had 13 assists and turned the ball over 22 times.
  The Mocs were led by Kevin Capers who had a game high 30 points. Brett Bailey was the only other FSC player in double figures with 10. Southern shot 42 percent from the field and hit 6 of 25 from the 3-point line. Leading 3-point shooter Seth Evans was just 2-14 from the 3-point line and scored just eight points. The Mocs were 9-12 at the foul line and had 18 assists to go along with 15 turnovers.
  The Tars jumped out to a 11-4 lead early before the Mocs answered. Rollins would lead 16-15 nearly nine minutes in.  After a 3-pointer by Jeremy Sharpe FSC would go on a 7- run and lead 23-18. The Tars would answer and after Sharpe banked home a three at the buzzer they would lead 34-29.
  Rollins would see that lead swell to 12 points (56-44) before FSC would go on a 14-0 run to retake the lead at 58-56. Scott Schuette would hit a three to give the Tars the lead. The lead would grow to five until a Cameron Vines old fashioned three point play would cut it to two (66-64) with 1:21 remaining. Myk Brown would make a lay up off a backdoor cut to give the Tars a four point lead late with 90 seconds to go. The Tars made 8 of 10 free throws to seal it late. The only bad news of the night for Rollins came early in the first half when Brett Chance dislocated his knee. He is out indefinitely.
   The Tars will be back in action when they host the Spartans of Tampa Wednesday. Tip time is set for 7:30 PM. As always you can catch all the action on WPRK Winter Park and round the world at RollinsSports.com
  Other SSC Scores:
Eckerd 58 Florida Tech 57
Barry 51 Nova Southeastern 50
Lynn 68 Tampa 59

Tars Face Stiff Road Test On Saturday.

The Rollins College Tars (13-5 6-2 SSC) travel to one of the toughest places in the Sunshine State Conference to play in the conference Saturday night when they travel to Jenkins Field House to face Florida Southern (12-5 5-3 SSC).
   The Tars are coming off a 65-56 win over Nova Southeastern in Winter Park on Wednesday. Dave Diakite continued his recent surge leading the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Jeff Dirkin came off the bench to score 10. The Tars come into the game averaging 69.6 points a night, while allowing 65.7 a contest. Rollins lead the conference in field goal percentage defense. Their opponents shoot 40 percent on the season. The Tars are 4-1 on the road in conference play on the year with the loss coming last Saturday at Florida Tech.  Dave Dikaite leads the Tars in scoring at 12.2 points a game and grabs five rebounds a night. Myk Brown comes into the contest putting up 11.9 a night while Jeremy Sharpe puts up 11.3 a game. Chris Malcolm comes into Saturday averaging 10.4 points and nearly three blocks a game.
  The Mocs come into Saturday in a second place tie with Eckerd.  They have won four straight after starting 1-3 in the league. FSC is coming off a 73-61 win over Palm Beach Atlantic on Wednesday night. Brett Bailey scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win. The Mocs lead the SSC averaging 81.5 points a game as a team on the season. They are last in the league allowing 74.4 a night. The Mocs are 10-1 at home this season, including a perfect 4-0 in conference play. They post a pair of double digit scorers on the season. Seth Evans leads the way at 16.8 points a night, while Brett Bailey puts up 14.8 points and 7.7 rebounds a night.
  The line: Florida Southern by 4.5
SSC Standings:
Florida Tech 6-2 (14-3)
Rollins 6-2 (13-5)
Florida Southern 5-3 (12-5)
Eckerd 5-3 (12-5)
Nova Southeastern 4-4 (9-8)
Barry 4-4 (9-10)
Lynn 3-5 (10-10)
Saint Leo 3-5 (9-9)
Tampa 0-8 (4-14)
Other lines for Saturday:
Eckerd -4.5 vs Florida Tech
Barry -6.5 vs Nova Southeastern
Lynn -5.5 vs Tampa

Tars Topple Sharks To Close First Half.

The Rollins College Tars improved to 13-5 overall and 6-2 in the SSC with a 65-56 win over Nova Southeastern at Warden Arena Wednesday. With the win the Tars kept pace with Florida Tech in the Sunshine State Conference.
   Dave Diakite continued his solid play of late tallying a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. The transfer from UCF hit 12-14 from the free throw line in the win. Jeff Dirkin was the only other Tar to score double figures Wednesday as he came off the bench to tally 10 points on four of six shooting from the floor. Chris Malcolm had another solid game with seven points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
 Rob Hunnington and Iran Hollis had 12 points each to lead the Sharks (9-8 4-4 SSC). Shaun Pratl added eight point and 10 rebounds in the loss for NSU.  The Sharks sturggled shooting just 31 percent from the floor in the contest.
  The first 15 minutes saw eight lead changes and four ties. The Tars went on a 11-4 run to take a 32-23 lead late in the half sparked by a Dirkin 3-ball. A Hunington basket cut the lead to 32-25 at the half.
 The Tars took control in the second half. The lead swelled to 14 (47-33) halfway thru the second half. The Tars would lead by 15 (51-36) with 8:30 left. The Sharks would cut the lead to seven (53-46) with a 10-2 spurt. The Tars would make 10 of 12 free throws to ice the win.
 The Tars will be back in action Saturday when they head to Jenkins Field house to take on Florida Southern, Tip time is set for 7:30 PM.  You can catch all the action on WPRK Winter Park and worldwide at RollinsSports.com
Other SSC scores:
Florida Tech 59 Tampa 52
St.Leo 63 Barry 51
Florida Southern 73 Palm Beach Atlantic 61
Eckerd 62 Lynn 43

Tars Close Out First Half of Conference Slate Wednesday.

The Rollins College Tars (12-5 overall and 5-2 in the SSC) welcome the Nova Southeastern Sharks (9-7 overall and 4-3 in the SSC) to Warden Arena Wednesday night. The game marks the end of the first half of the conference slate for  both teams.
  The Tars are coming off a 84-70 loss versus Florida Tech on Saturday. Despite the loss the Tars remain tied a top the SSC at 5-2 along with FIT. Dave Diakite had a solid game in the loss and continued his stellar play of late. The Junior transfer from UCF had 20 points and seven rebounds in the loss Saturday. The Tars come into Wednesday's contest boasting the top defense as far as field goal percentage goes. The Tars allow their opponents to shoot just 41 percent from the field on the season. They are fourth in the conference allowing 66.2 points a game while scoring 69.8 points a contest themselves. The Tars come in with a record of 8-2 at home on the season and 2-1 in conference play.
  Individually the Tars have four players tallying double figure scoring on the season. Myk Brown leads the way at 12.6 points a game. The Senior from Gainesville looks to bounce back after scoring just six in the loss to the Panthers Saturday. Dave Diakite and Jeremy Sharpe each come into Wednesday netting 11 points a game. Chris Malcolm rounds out the double digit scorers with 10.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks a night.
  Nova is coming off a 67-53 win over Saint Leo on Saturday and have won four of five after a slow start. Iran Hollis led the Sharks with 23 points in the win over Leo. The Sharks score 72.7 points a game as a team and allow 68.1 a contest. The Sharks are the top shooting team in the conference (50 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line).
 NSU has three players in double numbers in the season box score. Rob Hunnington leads the way at 12.4 points a contest. Teddy Tassy adds 11.4 a game, while Iran Hollis chips in 10.4 a night. The Sharks are 2-3 on the road thus far this season. They are 5-25 all time vs Rollins.
The line: Rollins by 9.5
SSC Standings:
Rollins 5-2 (12-5)
Florida Tech 5-2 (13-3)
Florida Southern 5-3 (11-5)
Eckerd 4-3 (11-5)
Nova Southeastern 4-3 (9-7)
Barry 4-3 (9-9)
Lynn 3-4 (10-9)
Saint Leo 2-5 (8-9)
Tampa 0-7  (4-13)

Lines for Wednesday's other SSC games:
Florida Southern by 13 vs Palm Beach Atlantic (non league)
Florida Tech by 16 vs Tampa
St.Leo by 4 vs Barry
Eckerd by 3 at Lynn

Big Second Half Powers Panthers Into First Place Tie.

The Rollins College Tars came into Saturday's contest with a chance to take control of the Sunshine State Conference. The Florida Tech Panthers had other ideas. FIT outscored the Tars 53-38 in the second half en route to a 84-70 win at the Clemente Center. The two teams are now tied with identical 5-2 records in the SSC, Eckerd fell off the pace with a loss at Barry to drop them to 4-3.
  FIT improved to 13-3 overall with the win. Jermaine Jackson had 22 points to pace the Panthers. Anthony Jackson added 15 in the win. Simon Cummings who came in as the leading scorer in the SSC at 20.6 a game scored 14 on just 3 of 13 shooting.  Derek Hellemann added 12 for the hosts. FIT shot 48 percent from the field for the game. They were 7-26 from the 3-point line, but were a much better 5-11 in the second half than the 2-15 they shot in the opening stanza. The Panthers shot 77 percent from the foul line and controlled the boards out rebounding the Tars 38-27. The Panthers had 17 assists to go along with nine turnovers.
  Three Tars scored in double figures on the day. Dave Diakite led the way with 20 points and seven rebounds. Chris Malcolm continued his solid play of late with 12 points. Jeremy Sharpe chipped in 10 for the Tars. Myk Brown returned but was held to just six points in the loss. The Tars shot 47 percent from the field and hit 10 of 26 from the 3-point line. The Tars struggled at the foul line going 12-19 (63 percent). The Tars had trouble taking care of the ball as they had 15 turnovers to just 10 assists.
  The game started with the Tars setting the tone early and taking a 14-8 lead nine minutes in. The Panthers would then go on a 10-0 run to take a 18-14 lead with 7:32 in the opening half. The Tars would battle back and take the lead 30-29 with 1:40 to go in the opening stanza on a Cgris Uhle basket. The Panthers retook the lead but Sharpe would hit a jumper that would give Rollins a one point halftime lead.
  The first ten minutes of the second half would see four ties and four lead changes. Ian Scott gave the Tars a one point lead (52-51) but the Panthers would use a 13-1 run over the next few minutes to take a 64-53 lead. The Tars would cut the lead to nine but that is as close as they would get.
 The Tars will be back in action Wednesday when they host Nova Southeastern. As always you can catch all the action on 91.5 FM WPRK and worlwide at RollinsSports.com. Tip time is set for 7:30.

Tars Travel to Melbourne For Tussle With FIT Saturday.

The Rollins College Tars (12-4 overall 5-1 SSC) head to Melbourne Saturday for a huge game with Florida Tech. The Tars have won three straight and lead FIT and Eckerd by one game in the SSC standings.
   The Tars most recent game was a 86-67 thrashing over Barry on Wednesday. All eight Tars who suited up scored. Jeremy Sharpe broke out of a recent shooting slump to score 20 in the win. Dave Diakite, Chris Malcolm and Ian Scott all also scored double digits in the win. Scott had a pair of steals Wednesday, which moved him past assistant coach Brad Ash and into seventh place in Rollins history with 162. The Tars come into Saturday averaging 70 points a game while giving up 65.
  All five Tars starters are averaging double figures on the season. Myk Brown leads the way at 13 points a contest, while Jeremy Sharpe and Dave Diakite are each putting up 11 a game. Chris Malcolm comes into Saturday averaging 10.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a game. Ian Scott is putting up 10.1 points and dishing out 4.1 assists a contest.
   The Panthers come into Saturday 12-3 on the season and 4-2 in the SSC. They are in a second place tie with Eckerd at 4-2. The Panthers are winners of six of the last seven. They come in with the top offense in the conference averaging 81.3 points a game, but have  struggled on the defensive end allowing 71.1 points a night.
  Florida Tech also has five players averaging double figures on the season. Simon Cummings is putting up 20.6 points a game to pace the Panthers, while Julius Reed posts 14.8 a contest. Derek Hellemann (13.5 ppg), Anthony Jackson (13.0 ppg) and Jermaine Jackson (10.9 ppg) also register double digits for the hosts. FIT is 9-1 at home this season. They are coming off a 64-54 win over Trinty Baptist last time out.
 Something has to give in this one. The Panthers high flying offense vs the Tars stifling zone defense. Rollins has not lost a true road game this season while the Panthers have only lost one contest at home.
The line: Rollins by 1

Short Handed Tars Roll Past Barry.

For whatever reason throughout the last  few years the Rollins College Tars seem to play their  best basketball short-handed. Once again that was on display at Warden Arena Wednesday. The Tars playing without the services of leading scorer Myk Brown (family issue) built a 22 point first half lead and defeated Barry 86-67.  
  With the win the Tars improved to 12-4 overall and 5-1 in the SSC. They are now a game ahead of second place Florida Tech. Four Rollins players tallied double digits in the win. Jeremy Sharpe led the way with 20 points for the Tars. Ian Scott added 18 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and a pair of steals. Scott was 6-7 from the floor and 6 of 8 at the foul line. Chris Malcolm netted 16 points to go along with 8 rebounds. Dave Diakite continued his solid play of late scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds. The Tars shot 53 percent from the floor to go along with 36 percent (10-28) from the 3-point line. The Tars made good on 71 percent (12-17) free throws. They had 19 assists to go along with seven turnovers.
   Barry fell to 8-9 overall and 3-3 in the SSC with the loss. They had three players tally double figures on the night. Evan White lead all scorers draining seven three pointers en route to 23 points. Chad Renfo netted 14 points, while Justin McCoy chipped in 11. The Bucs shot 39 percent from the field and went 13-33 from the 3-point line. Barry shot 82 percent (14-17) at the foul line. Barry out rebounded the Tars 34-31. The Bucs had 17 turnovers that led to 24 Tar points. BU also had 13 assists as a team.
   The Tars came out red-hot to start the game. The Tars jumped out 13-3 in the game's first five minutes and led 30-9 halfway thru the opening half. After a three by Bryan Van Cott it would be 40-24 and that is as close as Barry would get the rest of the night. The Tars would lead by as many as 26 and cruise to the win.
  Rollins shot 58 percent in the first half and drained 7-13 from the 3-point line. They missed just one free throw and had one turnover in the opening half. The Tars will be back in action Saturday when they will  battle Florida Tech in Melbourne. Tip time is set for 4 PM.  You can catch all the action on WPRK WInter Park and worlwide at RollinsSports.com

Tars Look To Extend Conference Lead Wednesday.

The Rollins College Tars 11-4 overall and 4-1 in the Sunshine State Conference fresh off a 56-53 overtime win at Saint Leo Saturday look to carry some momentum into a home contest versus Barry Wednesday. The Tars are in first place in the SSC one half game ahead of idle Florida Tech in the standings. Barry is part of a trio of teams that sit at 3-2 in the conference (along with Eckerd and Nova Southeastern.)
  The Tars have played five consecutive games decided by five points or less. They are 3-2 in those five games, including 1-1 in overtime contests. The Tars struggled shooting the ball in the win over the Lions on Saturday. They shot 37 percent from the field and just 3 of 23 from the 3-point line. Myk Brown led the Tars in scoring on Saturday with 15 points and leads the team in scoring on the season averaging 13 points a game. Chris Malcolm had another big contest against the Lions, tallying 13 points, 12 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Jeremy Sharpe and Dave Diakite are each putting up 11 points a night.  Malcolm comes into Wednesday averaging 10 points, seven rebounds and 2.5 blocks a contest. The Tars as a team average 68.7 points a night, while allowing 65 a game.
  Barry is 8-8 on the season and 3-2 in the SSC. The Buccaneers have won four of the last five. The last time out they had a four game win streak snapped at Florida Southern by a 86-72 score.  Evan White put up 19 points in the contest. The Bucs have yet to win a road game on the season (0-3). Two Barry players score in double figures on the season. Chad Renfro is scoring 14.3 points a game to lead the Bucs box score while Evan White puts up 11.9 a game. Barry scores 72 points a game but allow 70.4 per game. They lead the SSC in blocked shots at 5.8 a game.
The line: Rollins by 5

Tars Get Another Big Road Win at Leo.

The players have changed a lot on both sides, the coaches have undergone a few changes, but for the Rollins College Tars (11-4 4-1 SSC) one thing has not changed. It took overtime this time around, but Rollins beat Saint Leo for the 28th consecutive time Saturday at the Marion Bowman Activities Center. The game was a defensive struggle, as was evidenced by the 56-53 final score despite the overtime period.
   Three Rollins players scored in double figures on the day. Chris Malcolm led the way with a double- double (15 points and 12 rebounds), Myk Brown also netted 15 and Ian Scott contributed 10 for the Tars. The Tars struggled from both the field (37 percent) and really struggled from 3-point land (3-23). The Tars shot 63 percent (15-24) at the foul line. The Tars had just five assists to go along with 13 turnovers. The Tars edged the Lions on the boards 38-37.
   The Lions fell to 8-7 overall and 2-3 in the SSC with the loss. The Lions only had one player in double figures, as Marcus Ruh had 17 points on five 3-pointer's. Leading scorer Trent Thomas was saddled with foul trouble all afternoon and only managed nine points before fouling out with three minutes to go in regulation. The Lions shot 33 percent (19-57) from the field and an identical 33 percent (10-30) from 3-point land. The Lions shot 65 percent (11-17) at the free throw line. Leo had 13 assists to go along with 18 turnovers.
   The game started out with the Tars jumping out to a 5-0 lead on a Myk Brown triple and a steal-dunk from Ian Scott. The Lions would battle back and the game would be tied at 14 ten minutes in.  The Tars would then go on a 7-0 spurt to lead 21-14 with 7:08 to go in the opening half. The Tars would only manage two points the rest of the half and the Lions would go on a 11-2 run to take a 25-23 lead into halftime.  The Lions would stretch that lead to 11(37-26) early in the second half. The Tars would battle back though. Rollins would go on a 16-2 run to take a 42-39 lead late. The Tars would stretch that lead to four (46-42) with 1:22 left. Ruh would hit a three that would cut the lead to one. Ian Scott would miss a pair of free throws and Dominic Robinson would have a chance to give Saint Leo the lead at the foul line. Robinson made one of two to knot the game at 46. Each team had a chance to win it at the end of regulation. The Tars would have good looks by Malcolm and Chance that would not fall. They then survived a Dominic Robinson 3-point attempt, as he looked to hit a second straight game winner.
  In the extra session it was Leo who would get out to a three point lead (53-50) before the Tars would clamp down on defense. A Malcolm lay-up cut the lead to 53-52. The Lions had a chance to break the streak late but it was a Malcolm blocked shot that saved the Tars.  Malcolm then came up with another big basket to give the Tars a 54-53 lead. Brett Chance would ice it with a pair at the foul line for the hard fought win.
  With the win Rollins sits alone a top the SSC at 4-1. It was the sixth consecutive Tars game decided by five points or less. Rollins will be back in action Wednesday when they host Barry at Warden Arena. Tip time is set for 7:30 PM. You can catch all the action on WPRK Winter Park and round the world at RollinsSports.com

Tars Conclude Brief Road Swing Saturday.

The Rollins College Tars (10-4 3-1 SSC) fresh off a thrilling 71-70 win over Lynn on Wednesday night travel to Saint Leo Saturday. The Tars have dominated the Lions winning the last 27 meetings between the two schools. The Tars and Barry are tied a top the Sunshine State Conference with identical 3-1 records. Barry will be at Florida Southern Saturday.
   Myk Brown leads the way for the Tars averaging 12.9 points a game, while Dave Diakite and Jeremy Sharpe each net 11 points a night.  Chris Malcolm adds 9.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks a night. The Tars come into Saturday's contest averaging 69.6 points a game while giving up 65.9 points a contest. The Tars have struggled from 3-point land and on the glass this season. They did shoot 11-17 from 3-point land and 64 percent from the field in the win in Boca Raton Wednesday. Scott Schuette and Jeff Dirkin each had career high's with 12 points on four 3-pointers each at Lynn.
 Saint Leo comes in 8-6 overall and 2-2 in the SSC. The Lions are coming off a huge win of their own. The Lions got a 3-pointer at the buzzer to knock off Florida Southern 60-57 Wednesday. The Lions come in averaging 68.2 points a game. They are the best defensive team in the conference, allowing just 60.5 points a game. Three Lions score in double figures on the season. Trent Thomas leads the way at 14.5 points a game. Marcus Ruh adds 11 a night, while Shaun Adams contributes 10..8 points and 5.8 rebounds.
The line: Rollins by 9