Blue Bears Athleticism To Much For Tars.

The Rollins Tars got into a rare hole early and could not dig all the way out Friday.  The end result was a 89-82 loss to the Blue Bears of Livingstone College at the Brayboy Gym on the campus of Johnson C.Smith in the opening game of the JCSMU Tip Off Classic.
   The Tars (2-2) were led by Alex Blessig with 14 points.  Jeff Merton added a career high 12- to go along with five assists.  Mike Bedulskis added 10 points in his best effort in his young Rollins career.
 The Tars shot 50 percent (29-58) for the game.  This included a solid 48 percent (14-29) from the 3-point line.  Rollins was doomed by a 50 percent night (10-20) at the free throw line.  They had 21 assists and turned the ball over 12 times.
  The Blue Bears(1-0) were led by Hakeem Jackson who had a game high 27 points.  Jackson was 10 of 18 from the field and seven of eight at the free throw line.  Eric Dubose also had a big night for the Blue Bears with 24 points to go along with five assists.  Dubose was eight of 12 from the field- three of five from the 3-point line- and five of seven at the free throw line.  Eric Mayo also posted double figures scoring 11 points and grabbing eight rebounds.  The Blue Bears shot a sizzling 57 percent (31-54) including 50 percent (seven of 14) from the 3-point line.  They shot 61 percent (20-33) at the free throw line.  The Blue Bears dominated the glass 39-26.  They had 18 assists to go along with 18 turnovers.
  The Tars led 10-5 early but that lead would be short lived.  The Blue Bears would run off the next 13 points and lead 20-12 seven minutes in.  The Tars would go on a 8-2 run to cut the lead to two (22-20.) Sam Philpott wold hit a pair of 3-pointer's and Sharif Almulla would knock down a jumper during that span.  After another bucket from the Blue Bears the Tars would get a 3-pointer by Kyle Koszuta to cut the deficit to one (24-23.)  The Blue Bears would then score the next 12 points (most of them in transition) to stretch the lead to 13 (36-23.)  It would be 49-36  in favor of the Blue Bears at the half.
   The Tars would fight back in the second half but could not get over the hump.  Rollins would be down 10 (61-51) after five minutes in the second half before Blessig would get hot.  A 3-pointer by Blessig at the 9:59 mark would get the Tars to within three (63-60.)  On the ensuing possession after great defense by the Tars Dubose would drill a 3-pointer up against the shot clock to stretch the lead back to six (66-60.)  Livingstone would look to pull away but the Tars continued to fight. Koszuta would hit another 3-pointer and a Bedulskis bucket would cut the lead to three once again.  That is as close as the Tars would get as Livingstone would preserve the 89-82 victory.
  It will be a quick turnaround for the Tars as they will face host Johnson C.Smith Saturday.  Tip time is set for 4 PM at the Brayboy.  You can catch all the action on 91.5 FM WPRK and round the world at RollinsSports.com