Winners of its last six straight, 17th-ranked Rollins
travels to Saint Leo for the toughest test of the season thus far.
The Tars are the only unbeaten team in Sunshine State Conference
play and have a one-game lead in the standings. The Lions were the
preseason favorite and are two-games back of Rollins. Saint Leo has
played four consecutive overtime games heading into Saturday's
match-up. Fans can listen to all the action live on the Tars Sports
Network at RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 FM, WPRK.
No. 17 ROLLINS AT A GLANCE: The Tars can put
space between themselves and the rest of the conference field
during its final two games of the SSC's first round, starting with
third-place Saint Leo. Rollins has won six straight and is coming
off a convincing 72-55 win at Barry on Wednesday. The Tars put the
game away early in the second half, posting a 27-2 run coming out
of the locker room. Adam Allen led four Tars scorers in double
figures with 14 points. Jeff Dirkin and Mitch Woods each netted 12
with Kyle McClanahan tallying 10 points, five rebounds, five
assists and four steals. Rollins shot 53 percent, including a 67
percent second half, while holding Barry to 34 percent from the
field.
Rollins has the SSC's top defense and ranks 30th in
Division II, allowing just 64.2 points a game. On the other end of
the court, the Tars are pouring in 75.3 points a game, ranking
third in the SSC. Rollins leads the nation in 3-pointers a game,
knocking down nearly 10 a night, and leads the SSC in overall
shooting percentage, hitting 49 percent from the field. The Tars
are second in the conference on the glass, outrebounding teams by
5.1 boards a game.
Reigning SSC Player of the Week presented by VALIC, Dave Diakite
leads the Rollins attack with 14.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per
game. McClanahan is netting 13.9 a night and is second in the SSC
with a .575 shooting percentage. The graduate student leads the
conference with 5.3 assists per game. Allen adds 10.8 points an
outing while Brett Chance is netting 9.2.
Chris Uhle, McClanahan, Allen and Mitch Woods are four of the
top-five 3-point shooters in the SSC. Uhle and McClanahan are tied
at the top, both knocking down 50 percent from long range.
Rollins will complete the second half of its conference schedule
on Wednesday at home against second place Florida Southern.
SAINT LEO AT A GLANCE: The Lions have gone to
overtime in each of their last four, splitting wins and losses.
They won a double-overtime thriller at Barry, lost to at Tampa,
beat Florida Tech and, most recently, fell on the road to Eckerd
61-57. Eckerd had a chance to go ahead with 11 seconds to play, but
two EC free throws were off the mark. A final Saint Leo shot in
regulation missed and the game went to extra time. Marcus Ruh led
the way with 14 points and eight rebounds for Leo. Jerrel Harris
and Chim Kadima each chipped in 12 points.
Ruh is third in the SSC and leads SLU in scoring, putting up
17.6 points a game. Harris nets 13.9 a night while Trent Thomas is
scoring 13.1 points a game. Shaun Adams leads on the glass, pulling
down 6.8 boards a game, while topping the SSC with two blocks a
night.
The Lions are eighth in the SSC in offense with 70.8 points a
game, while sitting third in defense by allowing 63.2 a night. They
lead the conference in field goal percentage defense as teams hit
just 39 percent from the field against them.
Saturday marks the end of Saint Leo's first round of conference
games. They will host Palm Beach Atlantic Wednesday before
traveling to Nova Southeastern in one week and getting back into
SSC action.
THE SERIES: Rollins leads the all-time series
79-15 and had its 28-game winning streak against the Lions snapped
the last time out. On Feb. 11, 2012 in Winter Park, Saint Leo
dominated the Tars from the start, leading by 20 at halftime and
handing the Tars a 71-45 loss. Jeremy Sharpe and Scott Schuette
each scored 14 to lead Rollins. Trent Thomas paced SLU with 20
points
THE COACHES: Rollins leader Tom Klusman
(Rollins '76) is in his 33rd year at the helm of the program and
carries a career record of 604-332. He is one of five active
coaches in Division II with 600 career wins and is just the 15th
all-time to reach the milestone. Lance Randall (Beloit '94) is in
his second year at the helm of Saint Leo after leading the Lions to
the NCAA Tournament in his first season.
