The Rollins Tars (9-19 2-14 SSC) hung with the top ranked Florida Southern Mocs for about 16 minutes before FSC closed the first half on a 14-0 run and went on to a 82-69 win on Saturday at Warden Arena inside the Alfond Sports Center.
Southern (27-1 15-1 SSC) was led by Stephen Battle who drained seven of eight 3-pointers en route to his 27 points- while Kevin Capers added 17. The Mocs shot 44 percent (28-63) on the day- they shot 46 percent (18-39) from the 3-point line- while they struggled at the free throw line shooting at a 47 percent clip (8-17.) The Mocs had 22 assists and 10 turnovers.
For Rollins Jeff Merton continued his case for conference freshman of the year with another 21 points- 17 of the 21 came in the second half including four 3-pointer's. Alex Blessig added 14 points and five assists. All three seniors had solid games in what would be the final time in a Rollins uniform. Chris Uhle had 13 points and six rebounds- Scott Schuette scored 10 to go along with six assists- while Jeff Dirkin just missed a double-double (nine points and 11 rebounds.) The Tars shot 54 percent (25-54) on the game. They shot 46 percent (11-24) from the 3-point line- as they have much of the season the Tars struggled at the free throw line, shooting at a 55 percent clip (6-11.) The Tars won the rebounding battle 33-31. As they have much of the season the Tars struggled taking care of the ball, committing 22 turnovers and they had 19 assists as a team.
The game began with the Tars getting off to a quick start and a 10-3 lead. They would maintain that seven point lead (14-7) before the Mocs would knot the game at 15. The Tars would score the next six points and lead 21-15 at the 8:34 mark of the opening half. The Mocs would once again tie the game at 26 before Merton would give the Tars a 28-26 lead at the 4:03 mark. The Mocs would go on a 14-0 spurt over the next 4:03 and take a 40-28 lead at halftime.
The Mocs were in control much of the second half. Rollins would get to within seven (53-46) after a 9-0 run at the 12:34 mark but the Mocs would stretch the lead to 16 (70-54) three minutes later. That would be as close as Rollins would get the rest of the way.
The Tars will not make it to post season play for the first time in school history. While Southern wins the SSC outright and will face Eckerd Friday in the opening round of the SSC tournament at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimee.
Other SSC Scores:
Tampa 73 Barry 68
Eckerd 90 Palm Beach Atlantic 86 (OT)
Florida Tech 78 Lynn 72
Saint Leo 73 Nova Southeastern 59
Final SSC Standings:
1. Florida Southern 15-1 (27-1)
2. Barry 13-3 (22-4)
3. Tampa 10-6 (18-9)
4. Lynn 10-6 (18-8)
5. Florida Tech 6-10 (16-12)
6. Nova Southeastern 6-10 (11-15)
7. Saint Leo 6-10 (14-14)
8. Eckerd 4-12 (12-15)
9. Rollins 2-14 (9-19)
SSC Tournament Schedule Friday:
#1 Florida Southern vs #8 Eckerd: at Noon
#4 Lynn vs #5 Florida Tech 2:30
#2 Barry vs #7 Saint Leo 5 PM
#3 Tampa vs #6 Nova Southeastern 7:30
Semifinals Saturday at 5 and 7:30
Championship Sunday at 4 PM
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