The Rollins Tars tried everything. They switched up defenses. A team that plays 99 percent zone played some triangle and two as well as a few other wrinkles to slow down the Tampa offense. The Tars got a monster game from Jeff Dirkin. The senior from Illinois tried to single- handedly will the Tars to a much needed victory. But ultimately it was Tampa that came away with the 73-63 win at the Bob Martinez Center on Saturday.
Tampa (17-8 9-5 SSC) had three players score in double digits on the day. The biggest difference maker was Marcel Robinson who came into the game as a 22 percent 3-point shooter but was six of nine on Saturday en route to his team high 23 points- Eugene McCrory added a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds- while Austin Rettig had 12. Tampa's Jordan Davis dished out a team leading 11 assists. The Spartans shot 50 percent (24-48) on the day. They shot 44 percent (10-23) from the 3-point line. The Spartans shot at a 65 percent clip (15-23) from the foul line. They out rebounded Rollins 34-29. The Spartans had 19 assists and 14 turnovers.
The Tars (9-17 2-11 SSC) were led by Dirkin who poured in a career high 24 points on 10 of 14 shooting. The Oak Park,Illinois Native was 3 of 3 from the 3-point line and one of two at the free throw line. He also added eight rebounds and a pair of steals to go along with three blocked shots. Alex Blessig scored in double figures for the third straight game with 12 points- Jeff Merton continued his case for SSC freshman of the year with 11- while Sharif Almulla netted 10. Almulla played all 40 minutes while Dirkin played 39. The Tars shot 42 percent (24-57) from the floor in the game- they shot 35 percent (9-26) from the 3-point line. Rollins shot 67 percent (6-9) from the free throw line. They had 12 assists and 11 turnovers.
The game started with Blessig and Davis each nailing a 3-pointer on the opening trip. The game was knotted at five after Merton and McCrory each scored the next time down. UT would then put some distance between themselves and the Tars with a 7-0 spurt that would give them a 21-11 lead at the 12:07 mark. The Tars would get to within two on a pair of occasions but after another Tampa spurt the Spartans would take a 35-29 lead into halftime.
The second half would see the Spartans lead the rest of the way. The Tars would get as close as three twice. The last being after a Dirkin dunk after a Almulla steal at the 4:31 mark that made it 59-56. Robinson would nail a 3-pointer to stretch it to six and that would be all the Spartans would need.
The Tars are facing an uphill battle now to get into the conference tournament. They need to win both games (Wed at home vs Florida Tech) and Saturday at home versus top ranked Florida Southern and have Florida Tech lose the finale to Lynn.
Rollins will be back in action Wednesday when they battle Florida Tech at Warden Arena. Tip time is set for 7:30 PM. You can catch all the action on the Geico Tars Sports Network at 91.5 FM WPRK Winter Park and worldwide at RollinsSports.com
Other SSC Scores:
Nova Southeastern 77 Florida Tech 71
Barry 85 Eckerd 70
Florida Southern 87 Lynn 66
SSC Standings:
Florida Southern 13-1 (25-1)
Barry 12-2 (21-3)
Lynn 10-4 (18-6)
Tampa 9-5 (17-8)
Nova Southeastern 6-9 (10-14)
Florida Tech 4-10 (14-12)
Saint Leo 4-10 (12-14)
Eckerd 4-11 (11-14)
Rollins 2-12 (9-17)
South Region Rankings (Updated 2/18)
1.Florida Southern
2. Barry
3. West Georgia
4. Alabama Huntsville
5. Union (TN)
6. Lynn
7. Paine
8. West Alabama
9. Christian Brothers
10. Shorter
Note: The top eight in the region qualify for the NCAA DII regionals.
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