Third Ranked Mocs Squeak By Rollins.

The old adage says when two bitter rivals meet you can throw the records out the window.  On Wednesday night that was on full display as the last place Rollins Tars battled the third ranked Florida Southern Moccassins.  In the end, the Mocs erased a 10 point halftime deficit to secure the 74-70 victory at Jenkins Field House.
  The Tars (7-12 0-8 SSC) went "toe to toe" with a top ten team for the second team in the past month.   Sharif Almulla paced the Tars with a career high 23 points (15 coming from the 3-point line.)- while Jeff Merton added a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.  Rollins lost for the seventh straight time. Five of the seven losses have been by four points or fewer.  The Tars shot 54 percent from the field and 38 percent from the 3-point line in the contest.  They were doomed ultimately by a dismal night at the foul line. The Tars shot 60 percent (12-20) and committed 20 turnovers.  For one of the few times this season Rollins won the rebounding battle 36-31.
  Southern (18-1 7-1 SSC) was led by four players in double figures.  Kevin Capers led the way with 17 points- Dylan Travis netted 13- Dominique Williams contributed 12- and- Tyler Kelly posted 11.  The Mocs were held to 36 percent shooting on the night.   They struggled from the 3-point line, shooting 29 percent (10-35.)  The Mocs were solid at the free throw line where they shot 86 percent (18-21.)  The Mocs only had nine turnovers in the win.
  The Mocs had trouble with the Rollins zone for much of the night.  After a James Ferrell 3-point play with nine minutes to go in the first half Rollins had a 20-11 lead.  The Tars would stretch the lead to 15 (27-12) with 3:40 to go until halftime.  That 15 point deficit, was the largest the Mocs have faced all year long.  Rollins would have a 10 point lead (31-21) going into halftime.
  The Mocs would take the lead for the first time in the game at the 12:35 mark after a Williams 3-pointer that made it 39-38.  The teams went back and forth for a couple minutes and the Tars would grab a 46-45 lead after a Jeff Dirkin dunk at the 9:44 mark.  The Mocs would go on a scoring run to take a eight point lead (55-47.)  The Tars would respond with a 10-1 run to regain the lead 57-56 with 5:27 remaining.  The Mocs would then go on another 10-0 spurt that would put them up 66-57. Almulla would then drain one of his five 3-pointer's to cut the lead to six (66-60) at the 2:17 mark.  The Tars would not be able to pull of the stunner for the second consecutive season. Last season Rollins knocked off second ranked Florida Southern at Warden Arena.
 The Tars will begin the second round of SSC play when they face Lynn on Saturday at Warden Arena. Lynn won the first meeting 80-64 on December 4th in Boca Raton.  Tip time is set for 4 PM.
Other SSC scores:
Eckerd 59 Palm Beach Atlantic 48 (non league)
Nova Southeastern 70 Saint Leo 60
Barry 99 Tampa 93
Lynn 87 Florida Tech 70
SSC Standings:
Barry 8-0 (16-1)
Florida Southern 7-1 (18-1)
Lynn 6-2 (13-4)
Tampa 4-4 (11-7)
Eckerd 3-5 (10-8)
Saint Leo 3-5 (11-9)
Nova Southeastern 3-5 (7-10)
Florida Tech 2-6 (12-7)
Rollins 0-8 (7-12)