Tars Outlasted Sunday.

The Rollins Tars had a 11 point lead in the second half but could not hang on in a 85-80 loss to #10 Angelo State in the opener of the South Point Holiday Classic at South Point Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday.  With the win Angelo State stayed perfect (7-0) on the season.  Rollins dropped to 7-4 on the season in a losing effort.
  Three Rams scored in double figures in the victory.  Thomas Tshikaya paced the Rams with 19 points and 13 rebounds- Quay King tallied 17- while Prince Foster scored 14 points and dished out five assists.  The Rams shot 46 percent on the afternoon.  They were 9-24 (38 percent) from the 3-point line- while shooting 74 percent (26-35) at the free throw line.  The Rams dominated on the glass, out rebounding the Tars 42-31.  They had 14 assists and 21 turnovers.
  Rollins was led by Sam Philpott who poured in a career high 27 points on the day-  Jeff Merton also had a solid day scoring 24- Joey Galvis also scored in double figures with 13 in the game.  The Tars shot 41 percent as a team in the loss. They went 10-26 (38 percent) from the 3-point line.  At the free throw line they were 22-29 (76 percent.)  They had 14 assists and 18 turnovers.
  The game started with the Rams taking a early 10-2 lead.  The Tars would quickly respond with a 10-0 run of their own to go up 12-10 after a pair of Merton free throws. The game would be knotted at 20 with 8:13 to go in the opening half.  The Tars would go up by five (35-30) and would use a Philpott tip in at the buzzer to take a eight point (45-37) halftime lead.
  The Tars would stretch the lead to 11 early in the second half but the Rams would fight back.  ASU would cut the Rollins lead to one (56-55) at the 12:27 mark.  The Tars would take a six point lead (61-55) as Merton would score the game's next five points.  Once again the Rams would have a response though. This time a 15-2 burst by ASU would give them a 70-63 lead at the 6:35 mark.  The Tars would get to within two (75-73) on a pair of Galvis 3-pointer's and a Merton bucket at the 3:15 mark.  That would be as close as the Tars would get.
  Rollins will be back in action Monday when they take on West Texas A@M. Tip time is set for 2 PM Eastern at the Doolittle Center.  The Buffaloes were a winner over Western Washington Sunday.  You can catch all the action on the Geico Tars Sports Network at 91.5 FM WPRK Winter Park and round the world at RollinsSports.com