KISSIMMEE, Fla. (March 9, 2013) - Mitch
Woods tallied a double-double to lead fifth-seed Rollins in a
62-53 upset of top-seed Saint Leo in the semifinals of the Sunshine
State Conference Championship on Saturday.
The Tars (19-9) will meet second-seed Florida Southern in the
title game at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in Silver Spurs Arena. The Mocs
outlasted Eckerd 85-80 in overtime Saturday night.
Woods was just 4-of-10 from the field, but hit 8-of-10 free
throws to lead Rollins with 16 points and 10 rebounds, his second
double-double of the season. Chris
Uhle drained 4-of-8 from beyond arc, including two big ones in
crunch time, and added 13 points. Kyle
McClanahan netted 12 with Dave
Diakite recording 11 points and nine rebounds.
Saint Leo (21-7), the co-champions of the SSC regular season,
was led by a game-high 21 points from Trent Thomas. Jerrel Harris
added 11.
The Tars defense held SSC Player of the Year Marcus Ruh to just
two points.
Rollins shot 52 percent in the first half and ended the day 40
percent (17-42) from the field. The Lions hit 32 percent (18-55)
from the floor and were just 10-for-36 from long range.
The Tars earned a 36-28 edge in rebounds.
In their two regular season meetings, Saint Leo came out of the
gate firing and put Rollins in a hole early. On Saturday the Tars
flipped the script as a pair of Uhle 3-pointers gave Rollins a 16-6
lead midway through the first.
Leo answered with a 12-0 run and took an 18-16 advantage two
minutes later. The lead would change hands three more times in the
half with the teams going into the break tied at 26.
In the second, Rollins missed its first six from the floor and
allowed the Lions to swing a 34-28 lead with 13:35 to play. The
Tars regained control at the 9:46 mark as a Scott
Schuette 3-pointer capped off a 14-3 Rollins spurt that gave
the Tars a 42-37 lead with 9:46 left.
Saint Leo made it a one-possession game twice more down the
stretch, but Rollins continued to make big stops on defense while
extending its advantage to as much as 11 in the final two
minutes.
Rollins has played in the SSC Tournament championship 10 times,
winning four. They last made a trip to the title game in 2011,
beating Eckerd 75-69.
Fans can listen to the SSC Championship game live on the Tars
Sports Network at RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 FM WPRK.
Live video is available at SunshineStateConference.com
