Rollins twice came up empty during its season opening trip to
Las Vegas, but returns to Winter Park Tuesday to face Palm Beach
Atlantic in the 2013-14 home opener. The Tars were stymied by
Washburn and dropped a one-point heartbreaker to St. Mary's in the
annual trek West. PBA fell in an exhibition to Stetson and will use
its date with the Tars as the season lid-lifter. Fans can catch
all of the action with HD video on the Tars Sports Network at
RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 FM WPRK.
ROLLINS AT A GLANCE: The Tars return three
starters and 10 letter winners from last year's NCAA Tournament
team, but needs to replace their top-two scorers in Kyle McClanahan
and Dave Diakite. Seniors Adam Allen and Mitch Woods will look to
lead a team that will search through its crop of veterans and
talented rookies to find success in the early season.
In the season opening trip to Vegas, offense was hard to come
by, but the young team showed spurts of greatness. In a 65-42 loss
to Washburn to start, Chris Uhle's nine points led the way while
Woods added six. The game marked the first time Rollins failed to
get a double-digit scorer since Deon Troupe netted nine in a 60-44
loss to St. Mary's on Dec. 11, 2004. The Tars shot just 25 percent
in the game and were 3-of-26 from 3-point range. The following day
against St. Mary's, Rollins began to find its groove and erased a
17-point deficit before falling 55-54. The Tars had a look in the
final seconds, but the last play went for naught. Woods scored 12
to pace the Tars while newcomer Alex Blessig added nine.
Rollins is 0-2 for the first time since the 1994 season when
assistant coach Brad Ash was a freshman. The Tars will be looking
to avoid the first 0-3 start to the season since 1982-83 when they
lost to UMass-Boston, Toledo and Bowling Green.
Rollins leader Tom Klusman (Rollins '76) is in his 34th year at
the helm of the program and carries a career record of 609-343. 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.
PALM BEACH ATLANTIC AT A GLANCE: The Sailfish
are coming off a 1-24 record last season and return nine letter
winners, including their top-two scorers. Seven new players dot the
roster and will look to step up for first-year head coach David
Balza.
Junior forward and Detroit native Marcus Hardy averaged 15.3
points and 7.0 rebounds a game last year and will look to lead the
Sailfish into this season. Christian Martinez was PBA's top outside
threat and netted 12.7 a night last season. Matthew Gierl also
returns after 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds averages a game a year
ago.
The Sailfish played Stetson in the exhibition season, falling to
the Hatters 71-61. Junior Evan Graham led the way with 12 points
while Hardy netted 10 and hauled in eight rebounds. PBA shot 41
percent in the game, but committed 25 turnovers.
David Balza has a lengthy coaching resume and comes to PBA after
two years as head coach of Bethany Lutheran College. He started the
men's basketball program at Florida Gulf Coast in 2001, spending 10
years with the Eagles. Balza's teams were 114-39 in five years in
Division II before making the transition to Division I.
THE SERIES: The Tars lead the all-time series
against the 'Fish 19-3. Rollins won both meetings last year, 89-54
in West Palm Beach and 86-68 at Warden Arena. Palm Beach Atlantic's
last win in the series was Dec. 2, 2010 in West Palm.
NEXT UP FOR ROLLINS: After playing three games
in five days, the Tars will be off for a week, next hosting Warner
University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
Welcome to Warden Arena for Rollins
men's basketball's 2013-14 home opener. The Tars welcome the
Sailfish of Palm Beach Atlantic University to campus and will be
looking to bounce back from an 0-2 start to the season. The game
marks PBA's first regular season action. Fans can follow the game
live on the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com, Live Stats at
TarsStats.com and through both Apple and Android mobile
devices.
