LAS VEGAS, Nev. (December 19, 2007) ' Jonny
Reibel scored four of his game high 30 points in the final 30
seconds, including the go ahead bucket, to lead No. 4 Rollins over
Central Missouri 83-79 on Wednesday in the Las Vegas High Desert
Classic. Rollins leaves the desert with an 8-0 record after big
wins over the Mules and No. 6 Drury on Tuesday. UCM falls to 6-2 on
the season.
Reibel netted 30 points to go along with a game high 10 rebounds
and nine assists. The senior shot 8-13 from the floor, including
3-6 from long range and was a perfect 11-11 from the stripe. The
game caps off a huge trip to Vegas for the Chicago native as he
notched a career high 31 against Drury on Tuesday.
Kevin Hogan hit five three-pointers on his way to 19 points with
Jeremy Sharpe adding 14. Nick Wolf posted nine points and seven
rebounds, including two big offensive boards in the game's final
minutes.
Joe Young rolled up 17 points to pace the Mules, who
participated in the Elite Eight last season. Fred Dudley hit four
three-pointers en route to 16 points with De'Andre Byrd putting up
11.
The game was full of runs, starting with the Tars who jumped out
to a 12-0 lead over the first five minutes. UCM got on the board,
but a Sharpe trey at the 11:27 mark pushed the advantage to 18,
23-5. The Mules then fought back over the next six minutes behind a
barrage of three pointers from Young, Dudley and Byrd to knot the
score at 31 with five minutes left in the period.
The bombs continued to fall for UCM in the waning moments of the
half with a Josiah Miller three with 30 seconds left pushing the
Mules lead to 45-39. On the Tars final possession of the half,
Reibel was off the mark on a three with four ticks left, but Hogan
gathered the long rebound, drained a three at the buzzer and was
fouled, completing the four-point play and making the halftime
score 45-43, UCM.
The teams traded baskets to begin the second half with the Tars
tying the score on two different occasions over the first five
minutes. Rollins then went cold from the floor while UCM heated up
and rolled off a 12-0 run to make the score 67-55 at the 11 minute
mark.
Reibel pulled Rollins to within seven with a three, but the
Mules quickly pushed it back to nine on their trip down the floor.
On the other end, Reibel again connected from long range, followed
by a jumper and a three from Sharpe to make the score 73-72. UCM
connected on two straight layups, but Wolf answered with a trey and
a jumper to again make the UCM lead one, this time with 2:28 left.
After a missed UCM shot, Wolf was unable to make a three, but got
his own rebound and kicked it out to Sharpe. Sharpe was off the
mark as well, but Wolf gathered the offensive board to keep the
ball in Rollins' hands.
Reibel then took over, slicing through the lane for the go ahead
score and adding a pair of free throws with eight seconds left to
put Rollins up by three. A UCM last second three was blocked by
Hogan and Craig Reichel added a pair from the line in the last
second to cap off the Tars wild week in Vegas.
Rollins will be back in action on December 29-30 when they will
host the 33rd Annual Winter Park Rotary Tangerine Tournament at the
Alfond Sports Center. USC Aiken and Flagler will kick things off at
4:30 p.m. on the 29th with Rollins taking on Columbia Union at 7
p.m. The consolation and championship games will take place
December 30. Fans will be able to watch all four games live on the
Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.tv.
