ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (November 16, 2021) - The Rollins Tars, led by junior guard
Kyle Marion, pulled off the biggest upset of the young season, taking down the #2 ranked Flagler Saints on the road on Tuesday evening, 84-74. The win moves Rollins to a perfect 3-0 on the season while Flagler drops to 2-1.
How it happened:
- After Kyle Marion scored the first basket of the game on a jumper, Flagler responded with four consecutive made three-pointers to give them an early 12-6 lead. Two layups and a pair of free throws then extended the lead to 18-8 as the vaunted Saints offense showed why they are one of the best in the country. Unfazed by the double-digit deficit, Rollins responded with jumpers from Hutton Yenor and Brooks Cluxton, followed by a Cody Potter three that pulled the Tars within two, 20-18, at the 12:00 media timeout.
- Coming out of the break, both teams traded misses and makes, as well as a number of turnovers as the game remained tight. A three from Marion brought the Tars within one at 28-27, but it would take almost three minutes of game time before the Tars scored another point. Thankfully, the Flagler shooters went cold during the stretch, allowing Rollins to hang around. The tide of the game changed with just over five minutes remaining. Marion was able to connect on a pull up jumper, and turned into a three-point play after drawing a foul. Ont he next possession, Marion nailed a three to tie the game at 36, and then hit a shot in the paint to give Rollins a 38-36 lead. Back to back buckets from Dayton Gumm extended the lead to 43-36, followed by a pair of Potter free throws to close out the half with Rollins leading 45-36.
- Marion was 9-14 from the field in the first half for 21 points. Gumm and Potter each chipped in eight. The Tars shot 50% from the field, 60% from three, and 100% from the line in the first half.
- The Tars stayed hot in the second half with shots from Yenor and Cluxton extending the lead by four points. The Saints would knock down three-pointers on their next three possessions to pull within six, but layups from Marion and Cluxton kept the Tars' cushion comfortable. Jaizec Lottie was doing all he could to keep Flagler in the game, assisting or scoring on five consecutive Flagler makes. A Kohl Roberts bucket down low made the score 61-56 heading into the second media timeout of the half.
- The next five minutes of game time were a heavyweight fight, as both teams were able to answer ach other offensively. A Potter layup was answered with two free throws from Flagler. Buckets from Marion and Sergey Grishaev were countered with two Jaizec layups. Potter nailed another triple with eight minutes to go, but Jalen Barr was quick to respond for Flagler. With four minutes to go, Jaizec drilled another shot from deep, making it a five-point game. After empty possessions form both teams, Yenor was able to knife his way through the paint to score a tough bucket and put the Tars up by seven. A free throw and a jumper for the Saints made it a four-point game with 2:44 to play, but their prayers would go unanswered from that point on. Flagler went 0-5 from three to finish the game, while layups from Cluxton and Gumm, followed by two free throws from Marion, sealed the upset victory for the Tars.
- Rollins again shot 50% from the field (17-34) in the half, but their three point percentage plummeted to 25%. Marion and Yenor each had ten points in the second half to lead the team. Defensively, Rollins limited Flagler to 36.8% shooting in the half (and 37.5% for the game).
Marion was the game's leading scorer with a career-high 31 points on 13-21 shooting. He also added three rebounds and three assists. Potter was the seocnd leading scorer with 15 points off the bench, including 3-4 from distance. Cluxton recorded his second straight double-double with 10 points and 13 boards.
Rollins is 3-0 against Flagler since the 2006 season. This is the first 3-0 start for Rollins since the 2018-19 season.
Next up for Rollins is the SSC opener in West Palm Beach. The Tars will travel south to take on the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish on Saturday, November 20. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm. You can catch the game live on the Tars Sports Network.
