LAS VEGAS, Nev. (December 17, 2006) ' Rollins
trailed by 19 with 4:40 left in the game and clawed back to within
five, but third ranked Central Missouri State held on down the
stretch and handed the 15th ranked Tars an 81-74 defeat in the
final game of the High Desert Classic on Sunday.
Junior point guard Jonny Reibel led the Tars (6-3) with 25
points behind a 10-10 performance from the free throw line, while
also dishing out 11 assists. Sophomore center Craig Reichel netted
15, nine of which were on three pointers, with Deon Troupe adding
12 and John Thinnes chipping in 10.
Wadell William paced the 9-0 Mules with 22 points, connecting on
12 of 14 from the charity stripe. Zach Wright notched 16 points and
a game high 12 rebounds with Darryl Sommerset putting up 14
points.
Both teams average more than 80 points per game, but both
offenses sputtered coming out of the gate as a Charles Stoker
lay-up gave UCM a 14-8 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. The
Mules pushed the lead to 11 at the six minute mark and were up by
as much as 12 as Wright connected on a trey to make the score 30-18
with 2:47 left in the half. Rollins then closed the period on an
8-0 run, punctuated by Reibel's half court shot at the buzzer that
made the score 30-26 at the break.
Reichel nailed a three pointer to begin the second half and
trimmed the Mules lead to one, but UCM ran off a 20-5 run over the
next eight minutes to take a commanding 50-34 lead. Rollins offense
continued to struggle, but the defense kept it close. Theo Jones
made good on a four-point play with less than eight minutes to go
and put the Tars in an 18 point hole. Stoker connected a pair from
the free throw line with 4:40 to play and gave the Mules a game
high 19 point lead.
Codrey hit a lay-up on the Tars next trip down the floor, then
Reibel hit two from the line after a UCM technical foul, followed
by a Reibel three that cut the lead to 12, 63-51 with just under
three minutes remaining. The Mules got it back to 15, but three
pointers by Reichel, Troupe, and Reichel again made it a seven
point game, 71-64 with 1:19 on the clock. After two more UCM free
throws, Thinnes was fouled while shooting a three and sank them all
to cut the lead to six. After trading baskets, Stoker missed a free
throw and Reibel quickly cut the lead to five with just 51 ticks on
the clock. After some more free throws, Kevin Hogan drained a three
to cut the lead to five with six seconds left and the Tars forced
what looked like a turnover, but was called the other way. The
Mules then continued to make their free throws and got out of Vegas
with the 78-71 victory.
Rollins shot just 39 percent (22-56) from the field while UCM
hit 37 percent (19-51). The Mules and Tars were both nearly
automatic from the free throw line, as UCM connected on 38-47 (81
percent) with the Rollins shooting 20-23 (87 percent) from the
charity stripe. UCM won big on the boards, out rebounding Rollins
42-39.
Reibel and Reichel were each named to the High Desert Classic
All-Tournament Team.
Rollins will be back in action at the 2006 Winter Park Rotary
Tangerine Tournament on December 29-30. Southern Connecticut State
and Georgia Southwest State will kick things off with a 6 p.m. game
on the 29th at the Alfond Sports Center. The Tars will then take on
Nyack College at 8 p.m. The consolation game is slated for 6 p.m.
on December 30th with the Championship game to follow at 8 p.m.
