LAS VEGAS, NEV.
(December 17, 2005) - The Rollins College men's
basketball team made the long journey out west worth while on
Saturday. The Tars (5-2) came into the High Desert Classic and took
it to regional opponent Central Arkansas (6-2), by a score of
62-51. The Tars have now won four straight ball games.
Junior forward Isaac
Codrey came off the bench to lead the Tars in scoring with 13
points and also grabbed four rebounds. Freshman guard Kevin Hogan
was the only other Tar in double figures as he finished with 12
points. Hogan shot the lights out from beyond the arc, hitting
three of four from long distance. Sophomore point guard, Jonny
Reibel had another solid game as he contributed nine points, six
assists, five boards and a steal. John Thinnes struggled early, but
came up very clutch for the Tars late in the game. The junior guard
finished with nine points, and shot two of five from long range.
Both of the three's Thinnes hit came in the final three minutes of
the second half.
Jonny Reibel jump
started the Tars offense as he hit three jumpers to begin the game
to give the Tars a 6-2 lead in the first five minutes. The Bears
would respond to Reibel's early surge and take their biggest lead
of the game at 18-14 on a Darryl Jones three pointer. From there
the Tars would gain the advantage. Rollins went on a 14-5 run
capped off by a three pointer by freshman Greg Sweeney that gave
Rollins a 28-23 lead with 3:58 left in the first half. The Tars
would go into the half with a 30-27 advantage.
The Bears would come
out on fire in the first five minutes of the second half. Central
Arkansas hit four out of their first five shots and cut the Tars
lead to one at 37-36. The Bears would take the lead briefly at
40-39 at the half way point of the second half. That's when Tars
coach Tom Klusman went to his bench, and Isaac Codrey responded in
a big way. Codrey got a big three point play down in the post to
put the Tars up 44-41 and continued to make big plays throughout
the second half. John Thinnes had ice running through his veins as
he hit two clutch treys in the final three minutes to put the game
away. And the Tars walked away with a 62-51 win.
As a team, Rollins shot
the ball very well finishing up at 59 percent overall. They also
stroked it well from beyond the arc for the second game in a row,
shooting right at 50 percent. The Tars bench once again dominated
the opposing team as the Rollins reserves outscored the Bears
reserves 34-15.
Head Coach Tom Klusman
was very impressed with his bench's play. "Anytime we can get that
kind of lift from our bench, we're going to be tough to beat. Isaac
showed great poise and confidence out there, and was a big key to
the victory. It was a total team effort out there today and I was
very pleased."
The Tars will be back
in action Sunday, when they battle the number 14 team in the
country, Central Missouri State. CMSU is 9-1 on the season. Friday,
in the first game of the High Desert Classic, the Mules knocked off
Eastern New Mexico 75-67. The game will begin at 12 pm pacific
standard time which is 3 pm eastern standard time. The game will be
broadcast on WPRK, 91.5 in Winter Park and over the internet on
WPRK's website.
