The Rollins College Tars looked like a completely different team in the first half on Friday night in the opening round of the Saint Leo Classic than the team that struggled in a overtime loss to the Warner Royals. The Tars, facing the 18th ranked Panthers of South Carolina Aiken led 37-30 at the half. Then a combination of a solid second half with swarming defense by Aiken and a Tars team that could not find the bottom of the net, had too many unforced turnovers and missed a couple front ends of one and one's led to a 70-59 defeat at the Marion Bowman Activities Center.
Aiken improved to 5-1 on the season and collected there fifth straight win. They were led by three players in double figures. Kinley Branch led the Pacers with 14 points, Paul Larsen added 13, while Ronald Zimmerman chipped in 11. Devontae Wright added seven points and eight assists, including a pair of back-breaking 3-pointer's. The Pacers shot 54.5 percent (24-44) on the game. They shot 42 percent (8-19) from the 3-point line. This included five of 11 from the 3-point line in the second half. The Pacers shot at a 61 percent clip (14-23) from the foul line. They had 20 assists and 13 turnovers.
The Tars dropped to 1-4 on the year. They were led by a pair of players in double figures. Mitch Woods led the way with 19 points, and Adam Allen netted 14. Woods was just 5-16 from the floor, but made all seven free throw attempts. Allen scored all 14 of his points in the first half, he missed all five of his shot attempts in the second half. The Tars shot 30.8 percent (16-52) from the field. They were a frigid 22 percent (6-27) in the second half. The Tars shot 23 percent (5-21) from the 3-point line. They were a "ice cold" one of 11 from the 3-point line in the second half. Rollins shot 75.9 percent (22-29) from the free throw line. Each team collected 33 rebounds. The Tars had 10 assists and 15 turnovers. Nine of those 15 miscues were in the second half. The Aiken bench outscored the Tars 28-5 on the game.
The game started with the Pacers scoring the first five points. The Tars would respond and run off the next 13 and led 13-5 on a pair of Blessig free throws at the 14:50 mark. The Tars would stretch that lead to nine on three different occasions, the last being a 24-15 lead at the 9:50 mark after a Allen lay up. The Pacers would then cut the lead to three three different times before the Tars would stretch it back out to seven (37-30) at the break.
The Pacers would come out in the second half and a Wright 3-pointer would cut the Tar lead to four, before Woods would answer with a three of his own. Wright's second three would cut it back to four again (40-36) at the 17:23 mark. The Tars 43-36 lead would become a 48-45 Pacer lead after a 12-2 Pacer run. A Paul Larsen lay up would make it 55-47 Aiken with just over seven minutes to play. Mitch Woods would make two free throws at the 4:20 mark to cut it to six (59-53) but that's as close as the Tars would get.
Rollins will be back in action Saturday at 2 PM when they face Virginia Union in day two of the Saint Leo Classic. You can catch all the Tars hoops action on WPRK 91.5 FM WPRK and worldwide at RollinsSports.com
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