RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (March 13, 2010) - Ryan
Ferranti
netted 13 off the bench and Nick Wolf tallied a
double-double to lead second seed Rollins past seventh seed
Alabama-Huntsville, 59-57 in overtime to open play at the NCAA
Division II South Region Tournament, Saturday.
Rollins (26-5) found themselves down 17 in the middle of the first
half, but buckled down on defense to cut the deficit to one, 27-26
at the half and tie the score at 53 to end regulation.
Ferranti was 6-of-7 from field and 1-of-3 from the stripe to lead
11th-ranked Rollins with 13 points. Wolf recorded his 12th
double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Myk
Brown added 10 points.
"This is a funny team," said Rollins head coach Tom
Klusman. "They just don't like to lose. We knew what Huntsville
was going to do and they were having their way with us, but this is
the most resilient group I've had in 30 years, they just don't
quit."
Jamie Smith hit four, 3-pointers to lead Ala.-Huntsville (23-7)
with 16 points and Zane Campbell netted seven.
Rollins had just one field goal over the first six minutes while
the Chargers opened the game hot and rolled up a 14-3 lead. The
Tars got it back to single digits, but UAH again went on a run and
put Rollins down 25-8 after a Josh Magette triple with 10:06 to
play in the half.
"After we went down, we picked up the defense and that sparked us
to get back into the game," added Klusman. "We had open looks that
just weren't falling; we were missing free throws, jumpers, layups
and anything we put up, but when we started to get stops on
defense, the offense started to pick it up."
The Magette bucket would be the last for Huntsville for the next
three minutes as back-to-back 3-point plays by Wolf and another by
Ian Scott pulled the Tars to
within eight, 25-17 at the 6:25 mark. Josh Yost hit a baseline
jumper to put Rollins down 10, but that would be it for UAH as the
Tars ended the half on a 9-0 run to only be down one, 27-26 at
intermission.
Rollins came out of the locker room strong as Julian
Wilkison drained a 3-pointer to open the half and gave the Tars
their first lead of the game. After a UAH bucket, Wilkison again
connected from long range to put Rollins up three, 32-29. The two
schools then traded baskets for the next 12 minutes with a Scott
driving layup tying the score at 45 with 5:54 to play. The score
sparked a Tars 6-0 run give Rollins a 51-45 advantage heading into
crunch time.
Smith hit a 3-pointer on UAH's next possession and, after a Rollins
turnover, Derek Johnston connected on a pair from the stripe to
make it a one point game, 51-50 with 1:44 left. After a Rollins
miss, Johnston put the Chargers back on top by two, 53-51 with a
3-pointer from the right corner with just 39 seconds to play.
With the Tars backs against the wall, Scott drove the right side
and hit a layup with 16 seconds to play to tie the score a 53. A
Campbell 3-pointer for UAH at the buzzer then went begging to push
the game into overtime.
Rollins struck first in the extra frame before Smith answered with
a 3-pointer forUAH. Ferranti scored a leaning jumper from eight
feet out to put Rollins ahead, 57-56 but was followed by a Tyler
Hanback free throw to tie the sore at 57. Ferranti came up big
again on Rollins' next possession, hitting the eventual game winner
with 2:05 to play. The Tars were able to burn the clock down the
stretch by hitting the offensive glass with a Wolf defensive
rebound off a Johnston 3-point try appearing to seal the win for
Rollins with 0.2 second to play. After a quick foul, Wolf missed
the free throw and a clock error gave UAH a final attempt, but
Campbell's tip-in hit the side of the back board at the buzzer and
Rollins moved to 4-0 all-time against Huntsville.
Rollins hit just 48 percent (23-47) from the field and struggled
from the free throw line, connecting on just 10-of-21 (47 percent).
Huntsville went 21-of-54 (38 percent) from the field, including
9-of-26 (34 percent) from long range.
The Tars tallied a big advantage on the glass, 36-28, but committed
15 turnovers to 12 by the Chargers.
Rollins, making its eighth appearance in the NCAA tournament,
advances to play fellow Sunshine State Conference foe Barry at 7
p.m. ET on Sunday, Mar. 14 at Arkansas Tech in the second round of
the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament. The Tars hold a 2-1
lead over the Bucs on the season series, including a 66-59 win in
the SSC Tournament title game a week ago.
Fans will be able to catch all the action live on the Tars Sports
Network at RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 FM, WPRK.
