The Rollins Tars fell behind 28-7 midway thru the opening half, got to within five late in the second half but could not get over the hump in a 77-62 loss to Barry in the Sunshine State Conference Semifinals on Saturday at Jenkins Field House in Lakeland. The Bucs will advance to Sunday's 1 PM Championship game and take on second seeded Eckerd who knocked off Florida Southern 76-70. The Tars finished the year at 16-14.
Elvar Fridriksson led the Buccaneers with 18 points and 10 assists in the victory. Daniel Mortensen and Sunday Dech also had 18. Kooper Glick added 10 for Barry. The Buccaneers shot 50 percent on the day- they shot 42 percent (11-26) from the 3-point line. Barry shot 80 percent (16-20) from the free throw line. The Bucs crushed Rollins on the boards 37-20. The Bucs had 17 assists and advanced to the finals despite 23 turnovers.
Rollins was led by Eric Castaneda with 17 points and five steals- while Jakobi Bonner and Second Team All SSC Performer Jeff Merton added 15. Sam Philpott was also named Second Team All-SSC earlier in the week but was held to just six points Saturday. The cold shooting Tars shot 34 percent from the floor on the day- they shot just 13 percent (3-23) from the 3-point line. The Tars shot 81 percent (25-31) from the free throw line. Rollins had seven assists and 13 turnovers in the defeat.
The game would be tied at seven in the early going. Barry would then go on a 21-0 run that would give them the big advantage after a Dech 3-pointer with 9:12 in the half. The Tars would rally though and get to within five (38-33) as Bonner and Parker Davis would provide a spark off the Rollins bench. It would be a five point Rollins deficit at the intermission.
Bonner led the Tars with 11 points in the opening half- while Castenda scored eight- and- Merton added seven. The Tars shot 42 percent in the opening half- 20 percent (2-10) from the 3-point line. Rollins shot 82 percent (9-11) at the free throw line in the first stanza.
Barry was led by Dech with 13 points in the half. Fridriksson and Glick each added six. Barry shot 39 percent from the floor- 32 percent (6-19) from the 3-point line- and- 73 percent (8-11) from the free throw line. They doubled up Rollins on the boards 22-11 in the opening half. The Bucs had eight assists and eight turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Rollins would come out cold in the second half as Barry would go on a 7-0 run before a pair of Connor McKim free throws cut the lead back to 10 (45-35.) After a Merton steal and basket at the 13:02 mark Rollins found themselves within five (45-40.) Barry would then quickly go on a 9-0 run to take a 54-40 lead with 10:29 to go. Rollins would get the lead back to single digits (56-47) after Castaneda drained a 3-pointer at the 9:26 mark. After a pair of Castaneda free throws and a Bonner layup Rollins was within five (56-51) with 6:59 to go. As they did all day long Barry would have the answer as Mortensen knocked down a 3-pointer and Kooper Glick converted the old fashioned three-point play. Philpott would get Rollins back to within single digits 62-53 with 4:59 to go but that is as close as they would get.
Saturday would be the final game in the outstanding careers of four Rollins seniors. Jack Fleming- Merton- Philpott- and- Deion Clark. The group were key cogs in the Rollins group that got to the Elite Eight last season. They were also Sunshine State Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champions last season.
Other SSC Semifinal:
#2 Eckerd 76 #3 Florida Southern 70
SSC Final Sunday 1 PM (At Jenkins Field House in Lakeland. Lines Presented by JuanBernalSportsBooks.com:
#1 Barry -4.5 vs #2 Eckerd
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