ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (February 17, 2007) '
Rollins held a one point lead with 45 seconds left, but Eckerd had
all the answers down the stretch as the Tars suffered a 62-57 loss
to the Tritons on Saturday.
The setback drops Rollins (20-5, 11-3 SSC) into second place in
the Sunshine State Conference, one game behind leader Barry, while
Eckerd (20-5, 10-4 SSC) stands alone in third place. Just two games
remain on Rollins schedule this season, home against Florida Tech
and at Barry.
Isaac Codrey led Rollins with 15 points on 6-8 shooting from the
field. John Thinnes was 3-6 from beyond the arc, adding 13 points
with Jonny Reibel chipping in 12 and Deon Troupe adding 10.
Matt Cenatus paced the Eckerd offense with 13 points, despite
shooting just 4-14 from the floor. Andre King-Holland added 12
points with Craig Hazel chipping in 11 points and a game-high 13
rebounds.
Eckerd doubled-up Rollins on the glass, out-rebounding the Tars
42-21 on the evening.
Rollins first 12 points came from long range as Troupe, Reibel,
Codrey and Thinnes gave the Tars a 12-9 lead five minutes into the
first half. Morris connected on a trey to give Eckerd their first
lead of the game, 24-23 with four minutes left, but Troupe hit from
three-point range on the Tars next trip down the floor to spark a
9-0 run and put Rollins up 35-26. The Tritons then scored three
unanswered to end the half as Rollins went into the locker room up
35-29.
The one-sided first half gave way to a tight second period as
Eckerd crept closer and closer until eventually tying the score at
51 with three minutes left. Thinnes put Rollins back on top with a
bucket, only to have Jason Rudakas answer for Eckerd. Thinnes hit a
three on the Tars next trip down the floor, but a free-throw and
lay-up in two different possessions again tied the score, 56-56
with 1:16 showing on the clock.
Reibel drew a foul on the Tars next possession and hit one of
two from the line to put Rollins back on top, but Cenatus hit a
three for Eckerd to give them a two point lead and they held on
through the waning minutes, handing Rollins just their third
conference loss of the season.
Rollins will next match-up with Florida Tech on Wednesday,
February 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Alfond Sports Center. Fans can
listen live in Central Florida on 91.5 WPRK Winter Park and
world-wide on the Tars Sports Network at www.RollinsSports.com.
