WINTER PARK , Fla. (January 14, 2006) The Rollins College men's
basketball team suffered a let down at home as they dropped their
second straight home game to Sunshine State Conference leader, Lynn
University 87-66. The Tars played a great first half and led going
into the break, 39-36. But the Fighting Knights of Lynn proved to
be too much for the Tars down the stretch, as they outscored
Rollins 51-27 in the second half while shooting a flaming hot 69
percent from the floor.
'
Three Tars reached double figure point totals. Junior guard Deon
Troupe led the Tars with 15 points on 5-8 shooting from three point
range. Junior John Thinnes went for ten points but struggled from
the three point line going 0-5. And junior forward Isaac Codrey was
the last Tar in double figures as he finished with 13 points on
5-10 shooting. Senior Nate Rusbosin led the team in rebounding as
he grabbed five boards to go along with his six points.
'
The
Knights had five players in double figures. Senior forward Marcus
Hayes led all scorers with 23 points on 5-7 shooting from long
distance. Sunshine State Conference rebounding leader Sheldon
Edwards had a huge night for the Knights as he finished with 17
points and 12 rebounds. James Cage, Andrew Smith and Evan Cohn were
all in double figures as well with 12, 10 and 13 respectively.
'
The
Tars came out of the gate in the first half with a lot of energy,
much like in their last victory against Florida Southern. Rollins
took a 7-0 lead on Lynn on a lay-in by Jon Smith three minutes in.
Lynn took its first lead of the game at 20-19 ten minutes in on a
three point field goal by Evan Cohn. Rollins then went on a 12-4
run to go up seven on a lay-in by Chauncey Gibbs. The Tars had
their lead cut to three in the final seconds of the half on a three
pointer by Marcus Hayes, as Rollins went in to the break with a
39-36 advantage.
'
In
the second half, Lynn took control in the opening minutes. The
Knights went on 11-0 run in the first five minutes of the second
half capped off by a lay in by Chris Temple. Rollins would try to
recover but could only chop the lead down to nine. Deon Troupe's
three with 9:36 left in the half brought the score to 60-51. But
Rollins would get no closer. Marcus Hayes, Evan Cohn and James Cage
buried the Tars down the stretch hitting 6-13 from beyond the arc,
and Lynn walked away with an 87-66 win.
'
For
the game Lynn shot a sizzling 67 percent from the floor and 58
percent from three point land. The Tars shot a respectable 47
percent from the floor but struggled in the second half from three
point range, going 3-16 for 19 percent.
'
Next up for the Tars
will be three tough road games over the next two weeks. On
Wednesday January 18 th , the Tars will battle Tampa . Rollins will
then travel to South Florida to play Barry. Then the Tars will
finish off the road trip against Palm Beach Atlantic in West Palm
Beach .
