It is cliche to say that in tournament basketball you can throw all the records out the window. Same can be said of beating the same team three times in the same season. For the Rollins Tars those cliches became reality when the third seeded Tars fell 85-72 to Lynn at Warden Arena. The first time Lynn has beaten the Tars in three meeting this season. The Tars were picked ninth in the preseason conference standings, while the Fighting Knights were tabbed second.
Lynn improved to 13-14 on the season and advanced to the semifinals of the SSC tournament at the ICI Center in Daytona Beach Saturday. The Fighting Knights got a 32 point effort from Ben Berry, who led all scorers Wednesday. Berry also added 10 rebounds- he nailed five 3-pointer's and went 13 of 14 at the free throw line on the evening-Fred Landers scored 14- while Russell Wilson also had a double-double (13 points and 12 assists) for The Fighting Knights. Lynn shot 33 percent (23-69) in the game. They went 7-26 (27 percent from the free throw line-) the Fighting Knights made a living at the free throw line where they shot at a 82 percent clip (32-39) on the night. The Fighting Knights nipped Rollins on the boards 46-45. They had 11 assists and 12 turnovers. The 12 turnovers only cost Lynn nine points.
Rollins fell to 21-8 on the year after the home loss. Sam Philpott led the way with 14 points in the loss- Alex Blessig scored 12- while Deion Clark added 11. Both Jeff Merton and James Ferrell fouled out and played limited minutes due to foul trouble. Merton scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds in 29 minutes, after being named to the All SSC First Team earlier in the day. Ferrell managed just two points and three assists in just 24 minutes of action.
The Tars shot 41 percent (27-66) as a team in the defeat- they struggled from both the 3-point line (7-24 for 29 percent-) and from the free throw line (11-17 for 65 percent.) The Tars had 15 assists and had a hard time taking care of the ball (18 turnovers.) The 18 turnovers cost the Tars 22 points.
The Tars started out the game by scoring the first four points. They would lead by as many as seven (19-12) after a Philpott bucket at the 9:52 mark of the opening half. The Fighting Knights would get to within two a pair of times, but eventually the Tars would lead by seven (35-28) at the half.
The second half would start in The Tars favor. At the 13:49 mark Rollins would lead 49-41. Then things would change, as the Tars would see the Fighting Knights go on a 26-8 run that would turn a eight point Rollins lead into a 10 point Tars deficit (67-57) at the 4:33 mark. The Tars would get to within five in the final two minutes, but that is as close as they would get.
Rollins will now await the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 1030 PM. The Tars were fourth in the most recent South Region Rankings released earlier today. You can catch the show on NCAA.com
Other SSC Quarterfinal Scores:
#4 Saint Leo 82 #5 Nova Southeastern 73
#2 Eckerd 95 #7 Florida Tech 70
#1 Barry 95 #8 Florida Southern 79
SSC Tournament Semifinals Saturday (at ICI Center in Daytona Beach:)
#1 Barry vs #4 Saint Leo
#2 Eckerd vs #6 Lynn
South Region Rankings (Released 3/2:) Top 8 teams Qualify:
1. Alabama Huntsville
2. Barry
3. Eckerd
4. Rollins
5. West Georgia
6. Stillman
7. Union (TN)
8. Saint Leo
9. Valdosta State
10. Delta State
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