HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (March 12, 2011) -
Rollins led in the waning moments, but Dominic Lane hit a
3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left to lift Florida Southern past the
16th-ranked Tars 76-74 in the first round of the NCAA
Division II South Region Tournament on Saturday.
Nick
Wolf poured in 29 points and nabbed 10 rebounds to lead
Rollins, who had its season ended with a record of 25-7. He was
11-of-21 from the field and 6-of-13 from the free throw line,
playing all but a few seconds. The All-American moved into second
place on the Tars all-time scoring list and ends his career with
2,035 points and 1,046 rebounds.
Matt
Robertson added 14 points and eight rebounds while Nikola
Baran chipped in 10 points.
Free throw shooting was the difference maker as Florida Southern
shot 15-of-20 from the line while Rollins connected on just
19-of-32 (59 percent). The Tars shot 14-of-26 from the stripe in
the second half and 4-of-11 in the final four minutes.
"That was a heck of a game," said Rollins head coach Tom
Klusman. "We did what we wanted and they did what they wanted. It
just didn't go our way. These guys are warriors and played their
hearts out. It's unfortunate that the season had to end like
this."
The battle between Sunshine State Conference foes was tight for
all 40 minutes; featuring nine ties and 13 lead changes.
Rollins ran off to a 7-2 lead over the first five minutes, but
that would be the largest lead for either team in the first stanza.
The Mocs put together a 6-0 run late in the half and led 34-29 only
to have the Myk Brown hit a triple and Brett
Chance added a layup to knot the score at 34.
The scored was tied at 38 until Ian
Scott hit Wolf backdoor with 18 seconds left to give Rollins a
40-38 lead at intermission.
The momentum took bigger swings in the second half with Rollins
leading 44-38 with 18:26 to play. Florida Southern outscored
Rollins 24-10 over the next seven minutes and took a 62-54 lead
midway through the half.
Rollins battled all the way back and tied the score at 71 with
2:22 remaining. After a defensive stop, Wolf put the Tars ahead
with a twisting layup, 73-71. Terry Jenkins hit a pair from the
stripe to again deadlock the score, 73-73, with 53 ticks left.
On the ensuing possession, Wolf was fouled and split a pair from
the line to give the Tars a 74-73 lead. The Mocs twice came up
empty and Rollins gained possession with 10 seconds to play. Scott
was fouled, but missed both from the line to keep it a one-point
Rollins lead.
Florida Southern (23-8) raced down the court and Jay Hubble
found Lane open on the left corner where the reserve guard, who was
just 6-of-25 from long range all season, knocked down the triple
with 1.9 seconds on the clock. A final desperation play by the Tars
came up empty and Rollins was sent home in the first round of the
NCAA tournament for just the second time in 11 trips to postseason
play.
Terry Jenkins led FSC with 14 points while Damon Ellison added
13. Cameron Wooten and Lane each scored 11 with Lane going 4-of-4
from the field and 3-of-3 from long range.
"We had some good looks that didn't fall," said Wolf. "It felt
like it had a lid on it at times. We gave it a great effort, but
came up short."
Klusman added, "I'm going to miss these seniors (Wolf,
Robertson, Baran, Alex
Castillo) probably more off the court than on. They are great
me and are going to move on and do great things in their
lives."
