LAS VEGAS, Nev. (December 15, 2012) - Kyle McClanahan poured in a career-high 24 points to
lead Rollins in a 65-61 win over Abilene Christian Friday at the
inaugural Rollins Las Vegas Classic.
The win for the Tars (6-1) is the sixth in a row and gives head
coach Tom Klusman career victory No. 596. Rollins needed to
battle back from a 12-point, second half deficit and got a huge
defensive stop while up one in the final minute.
McClanahan shot 9-of-11 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from
the free throw line, bettering his pervious career best by five. He
also added five rebounds and five assists. Dave Diakite chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds
while Adam Allen netted 12 off the bench.
Eric Lawton led ACU (4-5) with 25 points and Steven Werner added
18. Tyler Rogers scored 10 off the bench.
The Tars hit 23-of-42 (55 percent) from the field and 14-of-15
from the charity stripe. The defense held Abilene to 22-of-51
shooting and earned a 29-23 edge on the glass.
The Wildcats used a small run at the end of the first period to
take a 36-30 lead into halftime. They then scored the first six
points of the second and were up 42-30 with 17:56 to play.
Rollins chipped away and later took a 56-55 lead off a Diakite
baseline drive and dunk with 6:12 left.
The Tars advantage was one with 70 seconds to play as Diakite
came up with a big steal before McClanahan and Chris Uhle each hit a pair from the line to ice the
game.
Rollins will be back in action in day two of its own event,
hosting Cameron at the Doolittle Center Dec. 15. Tip off is slated
for noon, local time. Fans can catch all the action live on the
Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com.
