Matchup:
Dixie State Las Vegas Challenge - Rollins, St. Martin's Seattle
Pacific
When:
Wednesday, December 17 vs. St. Martin's - 5:30 p.m. ET
Thursday, December 18 vs. Seattle Pacific - 5:30 p.m. ET
Where:
The Orleans Arena - Las Vegas, Nevada
Rollins makes its annual trek west to Las Vegas, taking part in
the Dixie State Challenge at the Orleans Arena. The Tars will meet
St. Martin's the first day and close the trip against Seattle
Pacific. Fans can listen to all the action live on the Geico Tars
Sports Network at RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 FM
WPRK.
ROLLINS AT A GLANCE: The Tars will be coming
off a 13-day lay off and are seeking a bounce back after falling to
Lynn 80-64 the last time out. Alex
Blessig put up a career-high 26 points, but was the only player
in double-figures. The Tars committed 27 turnovers and now have 50
miscues in the last two games.
On the season, Blessig is the top scorer with 14 points a game
while also adding 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists a night. Chris
Uhle is averaging 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds a night. His 18
total blocks ranks second in the Sunshine State Confernece and
21st nationally. Scott
Schuette adds 9.5 points a game.
The Tars are scoring 71.1 points a game and allowing 68.1, but
rank ninth in the SSC with a -5.1 rebounding margin.
Rollins opened the year in Las Vegas last season, coming up
empty against Washburn and St. Mary's. The previous 10 years the
Tars played in Vegas's December event and went 13-7.
Tars coach Tom
Klusman (Rollins '76, '78MBA) is in his 35th-year leading the
program and carries a 627-358 career record. He has the fourth most
victories among active Division II coaches, trailing only Herb
Magee of Philadelphia, Bob Chipman from Washburn and Tampa's
Richard Schmidt. All-time, Klusman ranks 11th in total
victories.
ST. MARTIN'S AT A GLANCE: The Saints are 3-6 on
the season, but won their last time out, a 67-64 victory over
Alaska-Fairbanks. Trey Ingram and Riley Carel each put up 11 points
to lead the offense.
Tyler Copp is the top scorer with 10.8 points a game while
Ingram is averaging 10.6 a night while also handing out 4.4 assists
a game. Ryan Rogers adds 9.3 points a game.
Michael Ostlund is in his first season leading the Saints after
previously coaching at Snow College.
SEATTLE PACIFIC AT A GLANCE: The Falcons are
7-3 on the year and are coming off a 100-67 win over George Fox on
Dec. 12 in their last action. Mitch Penner led the way with 26
points and 11 rebounds while Matt Borton added 16 points and six
boards. The offensive outburst was the second time on the year SPU
eclipsed the century mark.
Cory Hutsen leads the Falcons on the season with 17 points and
4.8 rebounds a night. Penner is getting 13.2 a game while Borton is
averaging 12.4 points and a team-best 6.9 rebounds. Riley Stockton
is posting 9.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists a night.
Ryan Looney is in his sixth season leading SPU and is 125-37 at
the helm. They won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference last
season and have made five-straight trips to NCAA postseason
play.
THE SERIES: Rollins match-up with St. Martin's
will be the first in program history. The Tars faced Seattle
Pacific at the 2006 High Desert Classic, beating the Falcons 88-75.
Craig Reichel led Rollins with 23 points while John Thinnes netted
21. Rob Diederichs scored 21 off the bench to lead SPU.
NEXT UP FOR ROLLINS: The Tars will be off for
the holidays, but get right back into the at the beginning of the
new year. Rollins hosts Palm Beach Atlantic on Friday, Jan. 2 at 2
p.m. to start a five-game home stand. They will then quickly turn
around and host Florida Memorial at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan.
3.
