MATCH-UP:
Rollins (7-6, 1-3 SSC) vs. Tampa (10-3, 3-1 SSC)
WHERE:
Warden Arena - Winter Park, Fla.
WHEN:
Wednesday, January 4, 2017 - 7:30 p.m. (or 30 min. after
conclusion of women's game)
COVERAGE:
VIDEO/AUDIO: GEICO
Tars Sports Network (RollinsSports.com) and 91.5 FM WPRK in Winter
Park
Play-by-Play: Robert Segal - Analysis: Jim Ferro
WPRK Pregame/Halftime show with Austin David
LIVE STATS: TarsStats.com
SET-UP:
Opening up their 2017 portion of their season, the Rollins men's
basketball team looks to get back to its winning ways as they
welcome the University of Tampa Spartans to Warden Arena on
Wednesday evening. The Tars enter into their first contest of the
new year riding a three game skid, all against nationally-ranked
opponents, and are most recently coming off of a 90-70 defeat to
the 10th-ranked Barry Buccaneers on December 30. Eric
Castaneda led Rollins with 14 points and four rebounds
off the bench. Connor
Mckim added 13 points while Sam
Philpott and Joey
Galvis each scored 10. Sawyer Glick was the
high-scorer for Barry, pouring in 27 points after a 7-of-14 night
beyond the arc. Adrian Gonzales chipped in 21 points and Elvar
Fridriksson handed out 10 assists. Tampa enters into Wednesday's
SSC matchup riding a five-game win streak, most recently defeating
Florida Southern by a final score of 80-70 on December 30 to close
out the 2016 portion of their schedule. Duke Shelton led the
Spartans with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Matt Johnson chipped
in 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists. The UT victory
snapped an 11 season losing streak at Jenkins Field House for the
Spartans, and marked the first win against the Mocs since the
2013-14 season.
TRACKING THE TARS:
Sam
Philpott leads the Tars in scoring, putting up 16.7 points per
game, ranking him ninth in the Sunshine State Conference. He is
fifth in the league in shooting, posting a 59 percent field goal
percentage, and is also pulling in 4.3 rebounds a game. Jeff
Merton has averaged 14.5 points per game, and leads the team
with 5.0 rebounds per contest and a team best 33 three-pointers so
far this season. Joey
Galvis averages 10.4 points a game and is the SSC leader with
31 steals, averaging 2.4 per contest. Freshman Connor
Mckim adds 9.3 points per game and an SSC 10th-best 3.5 assists
a game. Rollins is fifth in the SSC in offense with 83.6 points a
game, but is seventh in defense, allowing 84.2 a game. The Tars are
last in rebounding margin (-6.8), but lead the conference in steals
with 9.46 per game.
TRACKING THE SPARTANS:
Duke Shelton is 12th in the SSC in scoring, averaging
15.2 points per game to lead the Spartans. Pat Bacon is close
behind, averaging 15.1 points per contest, while Austin Rettig
chips in 12.9 points per game, posting 21 three-pointers so far
this season. Marcel Robinson leads the team in three-pointers with
27, and averages 11.3 points per game. Off the glass, Shelton
leads the squad with 9.9 rebounds per contest, followed by Grant
Bryant with 7.0 a night. Tampa is seventh in the SSC in scoring
with 81.8 points per game, but is second in defense, allowing just
74.8 points per contest. The Spartans lead the conference in
blocked shots with 53, averaging 4.08 per game.
NOTES:
Rollins trails in the all-time series against Tampa, 43-74,
dating back to their first matchup on January 26, 1951. Last time
out against the Spartans, Rollins defeated their conference foe on
the road by a final score of 59-58 on January 23, 2016. Joey
Galvis led all scorers with 14 points on 6-7 shooting
to go aloing with five rebounds. Sam
Philpott also finished in double figures with 11. Jeff
Merton chipped in nine points and five rebounds.
Rollins is 5-1 at home so far this season, most recently coming
off of a 112-104 overtime victory against UPR-Rio Piedras on
Thursday, December 15, 2016.
Sam
Philpott scored a career-high 27 points against Angelo State;
the third time this season he has set a new career-high.
Jeff
Merton needs 35 points to reach 1,000 for his career.
The Tars are 3-5 since losing senior guard Deion
Clark to injury against Florida Southern.
Tom
Klusman is 660-387 in his 37th year leading the
Rollins men's basketball team; Richard Schmidt is in his
34th season with the Spartans, and has a career record
of 639-326 in 33 seasons at UT. Overall, Schmidt has compiled a
career coaching record of 667-353 in 35 total seasons.
NEXT:
Rollins is back at home on Saturday, January 7, when they host
Palm Beach Atlantic in SSC action. Game time against the Sailfish
is slated for 4 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.
