ST PETERSBURG, Fla. (February 29, 2020) – Rollins fell into a 21-point first half hole, but nearly came all the way back before eventually falling 77-66 to Eckerd in the regular season finale.
Rollins finishes its regular season slate 14-14 overall and 8-12 in the Sunshine State Conference. The SSC Tournament bracket is set to be released Saturday night with the Tars the likely No. 7 seed and looking at a trip to No. 2 Nova Southeastern.
Jakobi Bonner led the way for the Tars with 24 points, hitting seven field goals and going 10-of-10 at the free throw line. Kyle Marion chipped in 12 points and Brooks Cluxton tallying 10 points and five rebounds
Myron Hagins went 11-20 from the field with six 3-pointers to lead Eckerd with 31 points. Admir Radoncic added 14 as the Tritons finish their season 10-18 overall and 6-14 in the SSC.
Everything that could have gone wrong for the Tars did just that at the beginning.
After Trevor Recio tied the game 2-2 with 18:54 to play, Rollins would only get two free throws for the next eight minutes and fell behind 24-4. The Tars went 0-7 with five turnovers during the span while EC went 9-of-13 from the field during the stretch.
Marion drilled a three from the right wing to get the Tars started as they went on to make their next eight shots as part of a 21-8 run that closed the gap to 32-28 with 4:55 left in the first.
Rollins got to within 35-34 with 1:21 on the clock before eventually heading into the locker room trailing 38-34.
The Tars started the second half similar to the first and found themselves staring at a 46-34 deficit with 18:25 to play. Rollins was down eight until two Cluxton free throws and a layup were followed by free throws from Chu Enechionyia and Marion to get the Tars as close as 48-46 with 12:46 left.
Eckerd responded and got hot from the field again, pulling away to a 63-50 lead with 7:05 on the clock. Rollins trailed by double digits the rest of the way.
The Tars shot 35 percent from the field and went just 2-of-19 from long range. EC hit 40 percent from the field and out rebounded the Tars 45-33. Rollins made a living at the free throw line, going 26-of-30 at the stripe.
Pairings for the 2020 Jimmy John's Sunshine State Conference Tournament will be released the evening of Saturday, February 29. Fans can follow the Tars post season run live on the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 FM WPRK.
