FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (March 8, 2009) –
Rollins men's and women's basketball teams will be looking for a
Tars sweep today as both participate in the championship games of
the 2009 BlueCross BlueShield of Florida Sunshine State Conference
Tournament final.
The top seeded women will clash with fellow co-regular season
champion Tampa at 1 p.m. while the second seed men will battle top
seed Florida Southern at 3:30 p.m. Fans can catch all the action
live locally at 91.5, FM WPRK and worldwide on the Citizens Bank of
Florida Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com.
WOMEN:
Rollins rolled past eighth seeded Barry 67-50 in their quarterfinal
match-up Wednesday night in Winter Park. Paris Moore led the way
with 13 points while Ines Teuma posted a double-double with 10
points and 12 rebounds. Rollins downed fourth seed Nova
Southeastern on their home court 55-43 in the semifinals on
Saturday. Jasmine Bradley led the way for the Tars with 12 points
off the bench while Paris Moore chipped in 10 points and dished out
seven assists.
Tampa beat Lynn 77-56 in their first round match-up on
Wednesday. Gianna Mesina led the Spartans with 18 points and 10
rebounds while Kym Taylor added 17 points and 11 rebounds. In
Saturday's first semifinal, Tiara Cook posted 20 points and 14
rebounds to lead UT over Eckerd 57-53.
Rollins and Tampa split in the regular season with each
defending their home courts. In January, the Tars downed the
Spartans 61-48 in Warden Arena. Kourtnie Berry posted a then,
career high 13 points while Ines Teuma hung 12 points and 11
rebounds. Angela Guiu led Tampa with 12 points as the Tars defense
held UT to just 26 percent shooting. At Tampa in February, it was
all Tampa as host UT cruised to a 71-48 win. Berry was again the
Tars leading scorer with 11 points and Jasmine Bradley chipped in
10. Hailee Sullivan posted 26 points to lead UT and all
scorers.
The Tars and Spartans have met three times in the SSC
Championship game with UT winning all three of those matchups. In
2000, Tampa downed Rollins 61-49 and scored back to back wins in
2006 (56-47) and 2007 (68-66).
All-time Rollins is 6-9 in SSC Championship games with their
last title coming in the 2004-05 season. Tampa is 3-4 in their
history and has reached the title game in each of past three
seasons.
MEN:
The second seed Rollins men opened the tournament with a 71-47
trouncing over Saint Leo on Wednesday. SSC Player of the Year Nick
Wolf notched 22 points to go along with seven rebounds and three
assists. Kevin Hogan added 18 points with Craig Reichel and Matt
Robertson each chipping in 10. On Saturday, the Tars turned back
Nova Southeastern 75-67 to advance to Sunday's championship game.
Wolf paced the Tars with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Pancratz filled
the stat sheet with 16 points, 10 assists and three steals with
Hogan netting 17 points.
The top seed Mocs thumped Florida Tech 105-66 in their
tournament opener on Wednesday. Rion Rayfield led FSC with 18
points with Terry Jenkins and Brandon Jenkins each chipping in 16.
Another balanced offensive game for the Mocs on Saturday led to an
80-59 win over Tampa in the semifinals. John Thompson netted 19
points and gathered 21 rebounds with Rob Eldridge scored 16.
Rollins and Florida Southern split in the regular season with
each winning on their own home court. In the SSC regular season
opener in Winter Park, Rollins had five players score in double
figures and turned back the Mocs 85-72. Jeremy Sharpe led the way
with 19 points while Nick Wolf added 16 and Julian Wilkison 12.
Zach Smith paced the Mocs with 15 points while John Thompson added
13. In the rematch in Lakeland, Florida Southern won in a shootout,
downing Rollins 102-90. The Tars got 32 points and 10 rebounds from
Wolf while Jeremy Sharpe added 22. Rion Rayfield went 11-17 from
beyond the arc to lead the Mocs with 38 points.
This season marks the eighth time the Tars will be playing in
the SSC Championship game. Rollins is 2-5 in those games and 0-4
against FSC.
Both men's and women's championship games will be broadcast on a
tape delay basis on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast and on the
Bright House Sports Network
Broadcast times for Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast:
Monday, March 16, 2009
SSC Men's Championship, 7:00 pm
SSC Women's Championship, 9:00 pm
Broadcast times for Bright House Sports Network:
Friday, March 13, 2009
SSC Women's Championship, 12:00 pm
SSC Men's Championship, 2:00 pm
Saturday, March 14, 2009
SSC Women's Championship, 3:00 pm
SSC Men's Championship, 8:00 pm
