WINTER PARK, Fla. (January 2, 2015) - Rollins
ran out to a 20-point halftime lead and never looked back, beating
Palm Beach Atlantic 89-61 Friday in its first action of the New
Year.
Four Tars (6-5) scored in double figures, led by 17 from Alex
Blessig. The junior also added five assists and three steals.
Jeff
Dirkin posted a season-best 16 points to go along with five
rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Sharif
Almulla added 14 points off the bench while Jeff
Merton tallied 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Dakota Zinser netted 17 to lead Palm Beach Atlantic (5-5) with
Garet Tucker scoring 15 and Clark Major gathering 10 rebounds.
Rollins shot a season-best 55 percent (32-58) from the field and
hit 10-of-26 from beyond the arc. PBA was held to just eight first
half field goals and ended the day 20-of-50 (40 percent) from the
floor. The Tars posted a 35-28 edge on the glass.
The Sailfish hit a 3-pointer on the game's first possession, but
the Tars outscored their visitors 26-6 over the next 12 minutes and
led 26-9 with 8:06 left in the half. The lead would balloon to as
many as 22 three times in the opening stanza.
Rollins led 45-25 at intermission.
The Tars quickly erased any threat of a comeback in the second
half, opening the period on a 13-0 run over the first four minutes
and grabbing a 58-26 advantage.
Another scoring outburst a few minutes later put Rollins ahead
76-35, their largest lead of the season, with 10:12 to play. PBA
would get no closer than 27 the rest of the way.
Rollins has a quick turnaround and will host Florida Memorial on
Saturday, Jan. 3 at 2 p.m. in Warden Arena. Fans can catch all the
action live on the Geico Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com
and locally on 91.5 FM WPRK.
