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67
Nova Southeastern NSM 16-11
75
Winner Rollins RCM 20-9
Nova Southeastern NSM
16-11
67
Final
75
Rollins RCM
20-9
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Nova Southeastern NSM 27 40 67
Rollins RCM 36 39 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Tars Cage Sharks to Advance to SSC Tournament Championship

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FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (March 7, 2009) – Nick Wolf and Zach Pancratz each posted double-doubles to lead second seeded Rollins to a 75-67 win over third seeded Nova Southeastern in the semifinals of the BlueCross BlueShield of Florida Sunshine State Conference Championship, Saturday night.

Rollins (20-9) will face top seed Florida Southern in the SSC Tournament Championship game Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in Nova Southeastern's "Shark Tank."

SSC Player of the Year Wolf notched a game-high 19 points and snagged 11 rebounds while Pancratz added 16 points, 10 assists and three steals. Craig Reichel, behind a 4-for-7 night from beyond the arch, added 17 points for the Tars.

John Brooks netted 15 points off the bench to pace Nova (16-11) with Tim Coenraad chipping in 14.

The Tars shot 48 percent (15-of-31) from beyond the arch and hit for 46 percent (22-of-48) from the floor. The Sharks were 23-of-50 (46 percent) from the field.

Rollins was outrebounded 33-29 in the game, but forced 13 Sharks turnovers while committing just eight miscues.

"We executed very well tonight and I couldn't be happier for our guys to be playing in tomorrow's championship game," said Tars head coach Tom Klusman. "We shot very well the entire night and the defense was great. Nova is a very dangerous team from outside and we did what we had to do to win the game."

Ross Allsop hit a layup on the Sharks first possession, but Wolf answered with a three on the Tars next trip down the floor to take the lead, which they would not relinquish the entire evening. Rollins was raining three's to start the game as six buckets from long range put the Tars ahead 18-10 halfway through the opening period.

After Nova pulled to within three, Reichel connected from long range, followed by a Pancratz layup and another Reichel bomb, to put the Tars up 33-22 with 90 ticks left. Pancratz and Brooks traded 3-pointers in the waning seconds as Rollins took a 36-27 lead into halftime.

Wolf came out on fire in the second half, hitting a jumper and three straight 3-pointers that made up a Tars 11-2 run and putting them ahead 47-29 with 17:42 to play. Nova then subbed all five players and slowly chopped into the lead, pulling to within eight at the 6:41 mark. Kevin Hogan answered with a 3-pointer on the Tars next possession to keep the Tars ahead by double digits heading into crunch time.

The Sharks would get to as close as six in the final minute, bur Rollins made good from the free throw line to earn the right to play in Sunday's championship game.

"Nick (Wolf) and Zach (Pancratz) both had great games tonight and led us on the stat sheet, but it really was a complete team victory," added Klusman. "Every guy we ran in and out of the game did their job and did it well. Craig (Reichel) stepped up and hit some big shots in the first half and had some key blocks and took a charge in the second that kept the momentum in our favor."

Rollins and Florida Southern split in the regular season with each holding home court advantage. Tip off is slated for 3:30 p.m. from the Shark Tank on the campus of Nova Southeastern in Ft. Lauderdale. Fans can catch all the action live on the Citizens Bank of Florida Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com.


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