The Rollins College Tars had to settle for a split in the Holiday Hoops Classic at South Point Arena in Las Vegas. It was a back and forth game on Sunday night but Rollins struggled shooting the ball and fell 72-70 to the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers. With the win Mines improves to 5-9 on the season while Rollins sits at 7-5 on the season after the hard-fought loss on Sunday.
A night after Rollins jumped out to an 11-0 lead in a win over Hawaii Hilo the Tars were the team that got off to the slow start and fell behind 8-0. A 6-0 run by the Tars cut the Mines lead to two at the 15:02 mark of the first half. Rollins would take the lead (18-17) on a Mayson Quartlebaum jumper at the 9:29 mark of the opening stanza. That lead would be short-lived and ultimately Rollins would trail by seven (36-29) at halftime. Rollins shot 32.3 percent in the first half, 23.5 percent (4-17) from the 3-point line, and 42.9 percent (3-7) from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes. The Orediggers shot 42.9 percent from the field, 33.3 percent (5-15) from the 3-point line, and 77.8 percent (7-9) from the free throw line in the opening half.
The Orediggers would stretch the lead to 10 to start the second half. Omar Figueroa would bury a triple for the Tars to get them within four (46-42) with 14:49 to play. Mines maintained that lead before Rollins got a Marshall Klug 3-pointer and a pair of Jah Nze free throws to take a 60-59 lead with 8:10 on the clock. After the two teams traded the lead Alex Romack would convert a three-point play to give the Orediggers the edge 64-63 with 7:06 on the clock. Rollins would pick the wrong time to go more than four minutes without a point before Nze finally nailed a trey at the 3:04 mark to make it 67-66 Mines. An Nze layup at the 2:18 mark would knot the game at 68 after an Orediggers free throw. Cooper Mroczek would give the Orediggers the lead but Nze would calmly drain a pair of free throws with 41 ticks left to knot the game at 70. After a Rollins defensive stop Mroczek would convert an offensive rebound into what would be the game winning basket. Rollins had a pair of looks on the final possession but neither would fall.
Nze paced the Tars with 22 points while Figueroa added 13. Rollins shot 38.1 percent from the field, 27.3 percent (9-33) from the 3-point line, and 65 percent (13-20) from the free throw line. They won the rebounding battle 42-31. The Tars had 16 assists and 11 turnovers in the contest.
"It was a tough start for us in the first 12 minutes of the game and we had to battle uphill for the last 28 minutes," Rollins assistant coach Kyle Frakes mentioned on the postgame show on WPRK. "They made the tough layups and shots late in the shot clock that we didn't and that was the difference in the game,"Frakes explained.
The Orediggers were paced by Mroczek with 18 while Kellon Johnson and Trent Minter each added 12. Mines shot 49.1 percent from the field, 32 percent (8-25) from the 3-point line, and 63.2 percent (12-19) at the free throw line. They had 18 assists and 12 turnovers as a team.
Rollins will be back on action on December 31st when they take on Saint Leo. Tip time from Warden Arena is set for 2 PM.
Other SSC Games Sunday:
Eckerd 84 UIndy 77
Tampa 92 St.Thomas Aquinas 77
SSC Standings:
Palm Beach Atlantic 4-0 12-0)
Nova Southeastern 3-1 (8-1)
Florida Southern 2-1 (10-3)
Embry-Riddle 2-1 (5-5)
Lynn 3-2 (8-4)
Florida Tech 2-2 (6-6)
Saint Leo 1-2 (6-5)
Eckerd 1-3 (7-4)
Tampa 1-3 (7-4)
Rollins 1-3 (7-5)
Barry 1-3 (5-6)
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