Matchup:
Rollins (8-17, 2-11 SSC) at Tampa (16-8, 8-5 SSC)
When:
Saturday, February 21, 2015 - 4 p.m.
Where:
Bob Martinez Center - Tampa, Florida
Winners of its last two, Rollins heads into the final three
games of the season with a fighting chance at grabbing a spot in
the Sunshine State Conference Tournament. Deemed a lost season by
many, the Tars have silenced doubters after wins over Eckerd and
Nova Southeastern. A late season winning streak may be enough for
Rollins to reach postseason play. They will have to get past a very
good Tampa team that is riding a five-game winning streak. Fans can
follow all the action live on the Geico Tars Sports Network at
RollinsSports.com and listen locally on 91.5 FM WPRK.
ROLLINS AT A GLANCE: The Tars are on a hot
streak over the last week, scoring key wins over Eckerd at home and
most recently at Nova Southeastern in overtime. Rollins led 44-41
at the half but the score was knotted at 77 after regulation.
Following a frantic extra five minutes, Rollins got out of the
Shark Tank with an 88-85 victory. Alex
Blessig set a new school record, hitting 9-of-16 from 3-point
range en route to a career-high 27 points. Jeff
Merton added 18 points and seven rebounds. Sharif
Almulla tallied 17 points and eight rebounds while Scott
Schuette posted 14 points and a career-best nine assists.
Blessig made a big move up the SSC scoring chart after his big
day and now ranks 14th with 11.9 points a game. The
junior is also getting 3.8 assists and 2.2 steals a game. Merton
added to his case for SSC Freshman of the Year over the past month
and is scoring 10.6 points a game while leading the Tars with 5.1
rebounds a night. Almulla adds 10.4 points a game and Chris
Uhle scores 10 points a night.
Rollins is eighth in the SSC in offense with 68.5 points a game
while ranking third in scoring defense, allowing just 68.7 a
night..
Tars coach Tom
Klusman (Rollins '76, '78MBA) is in his 35th-year leading the
program and carries a 632-340 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. Klusman has won eight Sunshine State Conference titles,
four Sunshine State Conference tournaments and made eight NCAA
Division II Tournaments.
TAMPA AT A GLANCE: The Spartans were picked
fourth in the SSC preseason poll and find themselves right there
with a week left in the season. UT has won its last five, most
recently a 65-57 win at Saint Leo on Wednesday. Jordan Davis
flirted with a triple-double, recording 19 points, nine assist and
nine rebounds. Austin Rettig added 12 points and seven rebounds
while Eugene McCrory netted 10 points.
McCrory is the top scorer for the Spartans on the season and
ranks fourth in the league with 16.8 points a game. He is third in
the SSC with 9.2 rebounds a game and leads the league in shooting,
hitting 70 percent from the field. Davis scores 15.2 a game while
sitting second in the SSC with seven assists and sixth with 6.7
rebounds a night. Rettig is getting 15.1 points and 6.3 rebounds a
game.
The Spartans score 73.5 points a game and allow 69.2 a night.
They are second in the conference in rebounding margin at +4.6 a
game.
Richard Schmidt (Western Kentucky '64) is in his 32nd season
with Tampa and is the winningest coach in Sunshine State Conference
history. He is 629-306 at UT, the 40th winningest active coach in
Division II by percentage and third in all-time victories, just
ahead of Tom
Klusman.
THE SERIES: The Spartans lead the all-time
series with the Tars 71-46 and have won the last four meetings. The
two rivals last met on Jan. 24 in Winter Park with UT winning
82-71. Sharif
Almulla led the Tars with 15 points and four assists. James
Farrell scored 11 and Kyle
Koszuta netted 10. Austin Rettig led Tampa and all scorers with
25 points to go along with seven rebounds. Tyler Zacur added 15
points off the bench. UT ran out to a 40-28 lead at the half and
also outrebounded Rollins 46-28.
NEXT UP FOR ROLLINS: Rollins is home for the
last two games of the regular season, first hosting Florida Tech on
Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. The Tars dropped a close 69-65
decision to Tech earlier in the year. Senior day is set for
Saturday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. against top-ranked Florida Southern.
Rollins gave the Mocs all they could handle in Lakeland before
ultimately falling 74-70. Fans can follow all the action live on
the Geico Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com and locally on
91.5 FM WPRK.
