SAINT
LEO, Fla. (March 5, 2006) ' For the second time in Rollins men's
basketball history and the first time since 1992, the Sunshine
State Conference Championship belongs to the Tars. With a 57-56
overtime victory over Barry University on Sunday afternoon, the
Tars captured the tournament championship to go along with the
regular season conference championship.
'
It
was a close game all afternoon, with the two teams tied 53-53 at
the end of regulation. It took another five minutes of overtime to
decide the winner, with the Tars coming out on top.
'
Rollins
(23-7) was led by junior guard and tournament Most Outstanding
Player John Thinnes (Cincinnati, Ohio) with 13 points and
All-Tournament team members Jonny Reibel (Chicago, Ill.) and Isaac
Codrey (Winter Park, Fla.) who added nine points apiece. Barry was
led by Ryan Saunders with 18 points and Otis White with 14.
'
Rollins
got off to a good start, taking an early 6-0 lead and went on to
lead for the entire first half. Thinnes connected on a
three-pointer with 42 ticks left before halftime to give the Tars a
30-24 lead at the half.
'
Barry
opened the second half by cutting the Tars lead and took the one
point advantage 36-35 four minutes into the half. From that point
on the teams traded the lead back and forth and the game was tied
at 50 with just under three minutes to play. White hit a three
pointer for Barry, giving the Bucs the three point lead, which
Rollins answered with a three pointer of their own from freshman
Kevin Hogan (Pensacola, Fla.) with 1:27 to play. Each team had a
chance to go for the win, but came up short, sending the game into
overtime.
'
The
two teams remained scoreless over the first three and a half
minutes of the extra period until Phil Puccia hit a big three for
the seventh seeded Bucs. Codrey was fouled on the Tars next
possession and he made both free throws, cutting the deficit to
one. Puccia had another look at a trey but Deon Troupe (St.
Petersburg, Fla.) came up with the rebound, giving the Tars the
ball with 29 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Codrey connected
on a basket to give the Tars the lead. The Bucs had a last chance
to go for the win, but Sanders' three-pointer came up short,
sealing the victory for the Tars.
'
With
the conference championship in hand, the Tars will head to the NCAA
Regional tournament, set to begin next week. Selection for the
regional tournament will take place Sunday, March 5, with the
highest seed hosting the tournament. This will be the Tars eighth
trip to the regional tournament, with the last time coming in
2003-04.
