The Rollins Tars saw an amazing tournament run come to a halt Wednesday when they lost 86-68 to top seeded Fairmont State in the NCAA Quarterfinals at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Rollins got off to a slow start, dug a early hole but fought back and got to within one (42-41) at halftime. Ultimately the offensive glass and a huge day from the 3-point line from Fairmont State's Jason Jolly would doom the Tars.
Rollins who finished the season at 24-11 saw their 13 game win streak come to an end. Individually four Rollins players tallied double figures on the day. Sam Philpott led the way with 22 points- Jeff Merton scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds- Eric Castaneda came off the bench to score 11 points- while Joey Galvis scored 10 points despite being in foul trouble much of the day. Wednesday was a rarity for the nation's third leading guy in steals as Galvis did not record a steal in 29 minutes Wednesday.
Rollins shot 48 percent on the day- they shot 33 percent (5-15) from the 3-point line. This after going four of five in the opening 20 minutes. They shot 71 percent (15-21) from the free throw line. The Tars had 15 assists and 18 turnovers in the loss.
Fairmont State (33-2) was led by Jason Jolly who drilled seven 3-pointer's en route to his 28 point effort- Garfield Heights product Vonte Montgomery made four 3-pointer's of his own en route to his 21 point game- while Thomas Wimbush added a double-double (15 points and 10 rebounds.) The Fighting Falcons won despite First Team All American and MEC Player Of The Year Matt Bingaya scoring only four points in nine minutes of action, as he was saddled with foul trouble all day.
The Fighting Falcons shot 40 percent from the field in the victory- they made 33 percent (13-39) 3-pointer's- and shot 79 percent (11-14) from the free throw line. Fairmont State easily won the rebounding battle 43-34. They had 16 assists and eight turnovers.
Rollins in the Elite Eight for the second time in school history got off to a slow start. Three minutes in The Tars had five turnovers and trailed 8-0. Rollins as they have all season long would fight back though. They would get to within one on three different occasions and trail 22-21 with 9:35 in the opening half. The Fighting Falcons would then go on a 11-0 run as Jolly would bury a trio of 3-pointer's to give them a 12 point lead (33-21.) Rollins would fight back late in the half and after a Galvis 3-poiner and bucket the Tars would be right back in the game down one (42-41) at the intermission.
The beginning of the second half would see the Tars keep it close and trail by four with 14:29 to go. The next four minutes would see Rollins go cold from the floor and the Fighting Falcons would use a 23-7 run to go up 20 (76-56) with 9:09 left. The Tars would get no closer than 18 as the Fighting Falcons cruised the rest of the way.
Fairmont State will advance to the NCAA Semifinals were they will take on Bellarmine tomorrow night.
Rollins saw its season come to an end, but not before they won both the Sunshine State Conference Tournament and the South Region in Huntsville,Alabama.
Other Quarterfinal Scores:
#4 Bellarmine 92 #5 Colorado School of Mines 72
#2 Northwest Missouri St. 79 #7 St. Thomas Aquinas 70
#3 Lincoln Memorial 74 #6 Chico State 61
Thursday's National Semifinals:
#1 Fairmont State 79 #4 Bellarmine 68
#2 Northwest Missouri State 79vs #3 Lincoln Memorial 67
Saturday's Championship Game:
#2 Northwest Missouri State 71 #1 Fairmont State 61
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