Rollins (19-7, 11-4 SSC)
vs.
Saint Leo (17-9, 9-5 SSC)
When:
February 24, 2016 - 7:30 p.m.
Where:
Warden Arena - Winter Park, Fla.
Rollins will host Saint Leo in their final home game of the
regular season. It is the second meeting between the two this
season, with the Tars dropping at heartbreaker at Saint Leo in
January, 77-75. Fans can watch all the action live on the Geico
Tars Sports Network on RollinsSports.com
Notes:
Rollins President Grant Cornwell will join radio crew
Robert Segal and Jim Ferro at halftime. Listen live on the Geico
Tars Sports Network on RollinsSports.com
ROLLINS AT A GLANCE: The last time out, it was
a closely contested game for much of the afternoon on Saturday but
Rollins would pull away late, eventually defeating Lynn by double
digits, 85-68. With the win, the Tars improved to 19-7 overall,
including 11-4 in conference play to remain tied with Barry at a
half game behind Eckerd for the SSC lead.
Rollins shot over 55 percent from the field en route to the
victory but uncharacteristically struggled from the line, hitting
just 20-31. The Tars edged Lynn on the glass, 39-37. Sharif
Almulla led all scorers with 22 points on 10-13 shooting, one
of three Tars finishing in double digits. Jeff
Merton added 20, eight of which came from the free throw line,
while Sam
Philpott scored 15 off the bench.
For the season, the Tars are fourth in the SSC in scoring (83
points/game) and are third in scoring defense, holding opponents to
less than 75 points a game. Rollins continues to lead the league in
shooting at 49 percent and are also tops in the conference from the
free throw line (79 percent).
Merton leads Rollins and is in the top-10 in the SSC in scoring
at 15.5 a night while Philpott continues to climb up the list of
league leaders, now netting 12.5 points a game. Almulla (11.9/game)
and Deion
Clark (10.2/game) are also in double figures.
Tars coach Tom
Klusman (Rollins '76, '78MBA) is in his 36th-year leading the
program and carries a 651-380 career record. He has the fifth most
victories among active Division II coaches and ranks
12th in total victories. He is just the fifth active
coach to achieve 650 career wins.
SAINT LEO AT A GLANCE: The Lions come into the
game after defeating Florida Tech at home 96-84 on Sat., Feb.,
20th as Marcus Dewberry recorded his first career
triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He also
had five steals on the night. Tyreece Brice scored 24 points as
Caleb Stewart had 20. Carter Belling led the bench with 17
points.
For his efforts last week, Dewberry was
selected as the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division II
Men's Basketball Player of the Week after earning his fourth
Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week accolades. The 6-foot
Lake Wales native, averaged 30 points, shooting a combined
50-percent from beyond the arc on nine of 18 shooting, grabbing
nine rebounds per game and dishing out 7.5 assists.
Entering Wednesday, the Lions rank second in the SSC in both
3-point field goal percentage at 38.1% and 3-point field goal
percentage defense, holding opponents to just 33.8%.
Vince Alexander, among the winningest active coaches in Division
II men's basketball and a three-time NABC Regional Coach of the
Year, is in his first season at Saint Leo after being named Saint
Leo's head men's basketball coach on June 3, 2015.
THE SERIES: Rollins is 81-21 all-time against
the Lions. In the last matchup, the Lions took down the Tars 77-75
behind Caleb Stewart's 30 points. Carter Belling added 15 and
Marcus Dewberry had 14. Rollins' was led by Deion
Clark who notched team-high 21 points followed by Jeff
Merton (15), Sam
Philpott (12) and Eric
Castaneda (11).
NEXT UP FOR ROLLINS: The Tars will travel to
PBA on Saturday, Feb. 27 to close out the regular season. Fans can
listen to all the action live on the Geico Tars Sports Network at
RollinsSports.com.
