Marion Career High Not Enough for Tars

WINTER PARK, Fla. (December 1, 2021) – The Tars fell in their home Sunshine State Conference home opener against Embry-Riddle by a score of 90-78.  Rollins drops to 5-3 overall, and 0-2 in SSC action. The Eagles improve to 8-1, and pick up a win in their first conference contest of the year.
 
Kyle Marion led Rollins with a career high 32 points, shooting 10-13 from the field, including 6-8 from behind the arc.  Hutton Yenor added 21 points of his own, while also leading Rollins with nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals.  Brooks Cluxton tallied a pair of blocks.
 
Elijah Jenkins scored a game high 33 for the Eagles, going 12-19 from the field, including 9-16 from three point range.  Romeo Crouch, Nikola Jerotic, and Michael McCalister also poured in double digit points.  The Eagles only registered nine turnovers, while winning the points off turnovers stat line, 30-12.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Half

• The Tars got off to a hot start, scoring the game's first seven points on a pair of Hutton Yenor scores and a Cade Long three pointer.
• The Eagles battled back, but a pair of Sergey Grishaev three pointers gave the Tars the lead back, and Rollins would maintain a slim advantage until the eight minute mark when the Eagles would push in front for the first time.
• Back-to-back Jenkins' threes gave the Eagles the biggest lead of the half for either team, at six points, 35-29.  But Rollins would respond with a Cody Potter triple, to keep the game well within striking distance.
• A Kyle Marion jump shot with 1:27 on the clock made the score 40-37, and that was how the two team would head to the locker room.

Second Half

• The Tars and Eagles traded buckets over the first minutes of the second period, but Rollins slowly saw the deficit increase.
• By the halfway point of the period the Eagle lead had grown to as much as 18 points, at 68-50.
• The Tars began chipping into the advantage, cutting it down to single digits at the 3:55 mark when a Marion three pointer made the score 76-68.
• Rollins cut the Eagle lead to eight on two more occasions, with a pair of Marion free throws at the 3:20 mark, and with a Marion three with 39 second left.
• Embry-Riddle closed the game out from the free throw line, where they did not miss from all night, as Rollins ran out of time for the comeback.

UP NEXT:
Rollins will return to action on Saturday, December 4, as they continue SSC action with a visit from Florida Tech.  Tip off is set for 4 p.m.
 
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