MELBOURNE, Fla. (March 5, 2011) -
Rollins held Tampa scoreless over the final 5:04 and earned a
spot in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament finals, defeating
the Spartans 67-62 on Saturday.
The top seeded Tars (24-6) will meet third seeded Eckerd Sunday
at 3:30 p.m. in the championship game. The Tritons upset Florida
Southern in a thrilling first semifinal, 70-69.
SSC Player of the Year Nick
Wolf led all scorers with 25 points and eight rebounds,
shooting 10-of-14 from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers.
Matt
Robertson, Nikola
Baran and Alex
Castillo each netted 10 for the Tars.
Rollins drained 15, 3-pointers in its quarterfinal game, but
shot just 3-of-11 from long range against Tampa. They were,
however, efficient from the paint and free throw line, shooting 51
percent (19-37) from the field and 90 percent (26-29) from the
stripe.
Anthony Griffis led Tampa (22-7) with 23 points and eight
rebounds. Rashad Callaway was 5-of 10 from 3-point range and added
17 points and six assists. UT shot just 45 percent (23-51) from the
field and was outrebounded by Rollins 30-18.
The Tars were stuck in neutral at the start, allowing the
Spartans to take a 14-3 lead over the first five minutes and
forcing a Tom Klusman timeout. Rollins responded and outscored
Tampa 30-13 the rest of the half, including a 20-3 run to close the
period, and took a 33-27 lead into intermission.
Rollins continue its hot streak into the second half and
extended the lead to 48-33 with 13:34 to play. Callum Townsend hit
a 3-pointer for UT on the ensuing possession and laid the
groundwork for a 21-5 Tampa run over the next six minutes that gave
the Spartans a 54-53 advantage. UT went 4-of-5 from 3-point range
during the span with Callaway hitting two.
A pair of Castillo free throws swung Rollins back on top before
a Griffis jumper and 3-pointer gave UT a 62-57 lead with 5:04 to
play. The points would be Tampa's last at Rollins ended the game on
a 10-0 run and earned a spot in the finals.
The championship game is the 10th for the Tars and
second straight. Last season they defeated Barry 66-59 to capture
their third tournament title.
Rollins won both match-ups with Eckerd in the regular season,
70-69 in Winter Park and 71-60 in St. Petersburg.
Fans can watch the championship game live on Bright House Sports
Network, channel 47 or HD channel 1147. The Tars Sports Network
will carry the game at RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 FM,
WPRK. Tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m.
