Four In Double Figures As Rollins Road Woes Persist.

 Jah Nze had 21 points, Mayson Quartlebaum added 20, Omar Figueroa stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, seven assists, six rebounds,  and four steals while Ricky Ghedini netted 11 but the Rollins College Tars road woes continued as they fell 83-74 to Florida Tech at the Clemente Center Wednesday night. Ty Harpring knocked down six triples on his way to 22 points for the Panthers, Ca'Darrius Sowell scored 16, AJ Liewun netted 15, Brewer Nithcer scored 11, and Xavier Ford-Belton tallied 10 for Florida Tech. Rollins falls to 12-10 and 6-8 in the SSC with the loss. Florida Tech improves to 9-13 and 5-9 in the SSC as they beat the Tars for the second time. 

 Rollins got off to a good start as they led 11-0 after Nze and Quartlebaum each made a layup. The Panthers did not get on the board until the 14:21 mark of the first half when Nitcher knocked down a triple. The lead did not last long as Florida Tech came back to tie the game at 17 after a Greyson Williams steal and dunk with 7:57 until halftime. Quartlebaum made a layup and Figueroa made one free throw to give Rollins a brief 20-17 lead. A  Lieuwen trey would again knot the game, this time at 20 with 5:41 until halftime. Liuwen and Ghedini traded triples before the Panthers would close the half on a 10-3 run to go up by seven (33-26) as both team headed to the locker room. Rollins shot 34.5 percent in the first half, 16.7 percent (2-12) from the 3-point line, and 57.1 percent (4-7) at the free throw line. Tech shot 40.6 percent from the field, 33.3 percent (7-21) from the 3-point line, and 0-2 at the free throw line in the first 20 minutes. 

Down by 13 (41-28) after a Sowell trey Rollins would go on a 8-0 run as Nze and Figueroa each connected from deep. It was a five point game (41-36) at the 15:39 mark. After a Panthers basket William Jobe hit a 3-ball to get Rollins within four (43-39) at the 14:40 mark but that is as close as they would get the rest of the way. Nicher, Lieuwhen, and Harpring all hit 3-pointer's and then Grant Lovette scored as the Panthers were in control 59-41 with 10:14 on the clock. The lead grew to as many as 23 for the home team. Rollins would continue to battle as they were down 19 (73-54) when Nze would score the next seven points and then a tip in by Quartlebaum made it a 10 point game (73-63) with 3;19 to go. Rollins got to within eight (76-68) on an old fashioned three-point play by Quartlebaum at the 1:56 mark.The Panthers would do just enough down the stretch to close out the nine point win. 

 For the game Rollins shot 46.4 percent from the field, 33.3 percent (9-27) from the 3-point line, and 65 percent (13-20) from the free throw line. Rollins won the rebounding battle 33-28. They had 16 assists and 20 turnovers in the contest. 

The Panthers shot 47.4 percent from the field, 41.7 percent (15-36) from the 3-point line, and 58.3 percent (14-24) from the free throw line. They had 19 assists and 13 turnovers in the contest. 

 Rollins will return to action Saturday (2/7) when they host Florida Southern at Warden Arena. Tip time is slated for 4 PM. 

Other SSC Scores Wednesday: 

Nova Southeastern 110 Barry 74 

Lynn 97 Saint Leo 85 

Palm Beach Atlantic 86 Florida Southern 78 

Eckerd 77 Tampa 76 

SSC Standings: 

Nova Southeastern 13-1 (18-1) 

Palm Beach Atlantic 11-3 (19-3) 

Florida Southern 9-4 (17-6) 

Embry-Riddle 7-6 (10-10) 

Lynn 7-7 (12-9) 

Barry 6-7 (11-10) 

Rollins 6-8 (12-10) 

Eckerd 5-9 (11-10) 

Florida Tech 5-9 (9-13) 

Tampa 4-9 (10-10) 

Saint Leo 2-12 (7-15)