WINTER PARK, Fla. (January 2, 2020) – After a steal in the final seconds, the Tars potential game winner was off the mark at the buzzer as Rollins fell to Saint Leo 63-62 at home Thursday.
The loss stops the Tars four-game winning streak and drops them to 8-4 overall, 2-2 in Sunshine State Conference play. The Lions move to 8-4, 3-2 SSC.
Connor Mckim poured in 20 points to lead the Tars. The senior hit five, big three-pointers and sparked the Tars comeback down the stretch. With eight seconds left and the Tars down one, he intercepted the Leo inbound and quickly passed it up court to Kyle Marion. Marion handed it back off to Mckim with less than a second left and his desperation shot was off the front iron.
Jakobi Bonner added 18 points and Marion netted a career-high 12.
Isaiah Hill scored 20 to lead Saint Leo. Rusty Moorer added 18 and Kyran McClure scored 13.
Rollins offense was cold to start as the Tars fell into a 14-7 hole after the first 10 minutes. They trailed by as many as 12 twice in the first and went into the locker room down 29-17.
The Tars were staring at a 37-25 deficit with 15:33 to play before rattling off an 11-0 run over the next four minutes and pulling to within 37-36.
Rollins twice tied the score and were down just 46-44 with 6:39 left. Hill hit a triple for Leo on the next possession and was followed by three-pointers from Wade Croomer and Moorer to put the Lions back up 11, 55-44, with 4:59 on the clock.
The Tars fought all the way back and a Mckim three-pointer from the top of the key closed the gap to 59-57 with 30 seconds left. After a pair of McClure free throws, Mckim was fouled in the act of shooting from beyond the arc and made good on all three to make it a one-point game.
Rollins quickly fouled and McClure sank both of this free throws to put the Tars down 63-60 with 21 seconds left. Trevor Recio then drove the lane and took the easy two to cut the deficit to just one point.
With just eight seconds left, Saint Leo went for the long inbound pass and Mckim intercepted it just past half court while falling to the ground to set up the potential game winning shot. The look at the buzzer, however, was off the mark.
Rollins shot 42 percent in the game while Saint Leo made good on 48 percent from the field. The Tars out rebounded Leo 30-27, but neither team took care of the ball with the Tars getting hit for 17 turnovers and Saint Leo 19.
Rollins has a quick turnaround and will next head to Miami Shores to take on Barry Saturday January 4. Tip off is set for 4 p.m. Fans can catch the action live on the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 FM WPRK.
