Tars Outlast Gallitos in Overtime

Rollins

112 -

104

P.R. Rio Piedras

Box Score Highlights

WINTER PARK, Fla. (December 15, 2016) - Six players scored in double-figures as Rollins needed overtime, but picked up a 112-104 win over Puerto Rico Rio Piedras on Thursday afternoon.

Rollins led by nine with 1:24 left in regulation before a Rio Piedras furious comeback was capped by a banked in three-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime. The defense stepped up in the extra frame and only allowed one field goal, sealing the victory.

Sam Philpott led the Tars with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists. Jeff Merton scored 16 points in the second half and finished with 18 while Connor Mckim tallied 16 points, five assists and two steals.

Joey Galvis and Jack Fleming both netted 13 with Fleming also handing out a career-high seven assists. Blake Admire set a new career-high with 11 points while Mike Bedulskis was 5-of-6 from the field and scored 10.

Omar Font led Rio Piedras and all scorers with 36 points behind a 10-of-14 day beyond the arc. Gabriel Anglero added 23 points and Esteban Cordero handed out 14 assists.

The win moves Rollins to 7-3 overall while Rio Piedras falls to 2-3.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Omar Font (RP): 36 pts, 10-14 3FG, 4 asst.
• Gabriel Anglero (RP): 23 pts.
• Sam Philpott (RC): 19 pts, 5 rbs, 4 asst.
• Jeff Merton (RC): 18 pts, 4-7 3FG
• Connor Mckim (RC): 16 pts, 5 asst.
• Joey Galvis (RC): 13 pts, 4 steals
• Jack Fleming (RC): 13 pts, 7 asst.
• Blake Admire (RC): 11 pts.
• Mike Bedulskis (RC): 10 pts.
• Eric Castaneda (RC): 11 rbs.

HIGHLIGHTS AND HALF-BY-HALF ANALYSIS
First Half l Rio Piedras hit five of their first six shots, all three-pointers, and raced out to 15-4 lead after the first four minutes. After a media timeout, the Tars responded with a 14-3 run and tied the score 18-18 at the 11:45 mark. Admire score eight points in the span. The Gallitos briefly retook the lead before Bedulskis rolled off six-straight points and started another Rollins run that put the hosts up 32-23 with seven minutes to play in the half. Rio Piedras then started to heat up from the outside and swung momentum back its way, going up by five late in the half. The Tars ended the first with back-to-back Philpott and Jakobi Bonner three-pointers to take a 45-44 lead into the break.

Second Half l Rollins seized control early in the second and began to pull away, leading by as many as 77-63 after a pair of Merton free throws with 8:22 to play. Again, the Gallitos came back and cut the lead to 90-84 at the 2:09 mark. Mckim hit from deep to put the Tars up 93-84 with 1:24 on the clock. Rio Piedras defense then turned the Tars over on three-straight possessions and capitalized in a big way, closing the gap to 93-91 with 30 seconds to play. Fleming hit two from the line to push it back to a four-point game, but Anglero drained a deep three-pointer with eight seconds left to make the score 95-94. Fleming again hit a pair of clutch free throws only to have Anglero's three at the buzzer bank in and send the game to overtime.

Overtime l The teams traded baskets to start the extra frame with a Krystian Medina three-pointer closing Rollins lead to 105-104 with 2:08 to play. The Tars then held the Gallitos scoreless the rest of the way and sealed the win with five-straight points from Mckim in the final seconds.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Field Goal Shooting: Rollins 38-62 (61 percent); Rio Piedras 36-73 (50 percent)
• 3-point Field Goal Shooting: Rollins 15-25 (58 percent); Rio Piedras 24-54 (44 percent)
• Free-throws: Rollins 21-27 (78 percent); Rio Piedras 8-12 (66 percent)
• Rebounding: Rollins 36, Rio Piedras 31
• Turnovers: Rollins 20, Rio Piedras 22
• Rollins beat Rio Piedras 44-18 on points in the paint and 39-32 in points off turnovers.

GAME NOTES
• Rollins improves to 12-0 all-time against Rio Piedras.
• The Tars 112 points is tied for the 12th-most in a game in school history; Rollins last scored 112 vs. Puerto Rico Caye on Nov. 20, 2008.
• Conor Mckim tied a career-high with 16 points.
• Jack Fleming set a new career-high with seven assists.
• Eric Castaneda set a new career-high with 11 rebounds.
• Rollins improves to 992-772 in the modern era (1950) of the program.
• Tom Klusman improves to 660-385 in his career.

NEXT UP FOR THE TARS
Rollins is back in action Dec. 18-19 at the Las Vegas South Point Classic, facing Angleo State and West Texas A&M. Gametime is 2 p.m. ET both days. Fans can catch all the action live on the Geico Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 FM WPRK.