WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (January 3, 2018) – Playing from behind most of the night, Rollins made it a one possession game late, but couldn't get over the hump and fell to Palm Beach Atlantic 80-66 on Wednesday night.
Jeff Merton led the way for Rollins (8-7, 4-3 Sunshine State Conference) with 18 points and six rebounds. Sam Philpott added 14 points and Connor Mckim 11.
The main story line for the Tars was free throw shooting, connecting on just 4-of-14 at the stripe. Rollins was 28-of-64 (44 percent) from the floor, including 8-of-26 from long range. PBA (10-8, 4-3 SSC) was 27-of-48 (56 percent) shooting and outrebounded Rollins 42-26.
Grant Gullett tallied 20 points and 13 rebounds to pace the Sailfish. Jules Jasmin and Marshall Riddle both scored 15.
The loss is a fourth-straight for the Tars and third in a row they didn't lead at any point in the game.
PBA led 10-5 early and put the Tars down 32-16 halfway through the first. The Tars responded with a 13-0 run and closed the gap to 32-29 on a Merton triple with 5:11 left until intermission.
After a timeout, the Sailfish went on a 9-0 spurt to keep the Tars at bay before Jack Fleming and Philpott scored the final buckets of the half. Rollins faced a 41-33 deficit going into the locker room.
Merton got hot to start the second and put Rollins to within two twice, but each time the 'Fish answered and the Tars kept playing uphill. A three-point play by Mckim got Rollins to within 58-53 midway through the half and Jakobi Bonner hit a put back to get the Tars to within three with 7:36 to go. After going back down by seven, three-pointers by Merton and Mckim put the Tars again to within three, 66-63 but that would be as close at they would get the rest of the way. PBA scored the next five points and were solid at the free throw line down the stretch to hold off the Tars.
Rollins will next host Nova Southeastern on Saturday, January 6 at looking to stop its skid. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. in Warden Arena. Fans can watch the action live on the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com.
