ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (December 29, 2022) - The Rollins Tars find themselves back in the winning column following an impressive 80-74 win against the Eckerd Tritons on Thursday. The win moves Rollins to 5-6 overall and 2-2 in SSC play. Eckerd falls to 5-6 (2-3 SSC).
Things started off rough for the Tars as leading scorer
Hutton Yenor went down in the second minute of the game with an injury that would keep him out for the remainder of the game. In his absence, the Tars received a full team effort in the win.
After falling behind 7-0,
Cody Potter hit his first three of the night to put the Tars on the board. Eckerd followed that with an 8-0 run to go up 15-3. Follownig a media timeout, Rollins came roaring back, led by senior guard
Kyle Marion. He hit three jump shots, converted an and-one, and added three free throws to help Rollins take a 16-15 lead. An Eckerd three snapped their five minute long scoring drought, but the Tars kept the pressure on with a monster dunk and a layup from
Matheus Silveira.
Eckerd found their rhythm once more, and went up by as many as seven at 29-22 with 5:42 to play. Back-to-back threes from
Cade Long and Marion kept Rollins in the game, but the Tritons continued to score. Potter scored five straight for the Tars in the final minutes, and Marion snuck one more basket in before halftime, but the Tars still trailed 41-37 at the break.
Rollins shot an impressive 52% from the floor in the first half that included 4-10 (40%) from three. Eckerd only shot 43%, but they had 14 more shot opportunities that the Tars (37-23).
Conversions from Silveira and Long tied the game up at 42 early in the second half. After the Tritons retook the lead, Potter used his magic and connected on consecutive threes to give Rollins a 50-45 lead and forced Eckerd to call timeout. Potter would add two more threes in the next two minutes to help Rollins extend a lead as high as 58-49.
The Rollins offense hit a cold spell over the next few minutes, allowing Eckerd to scratch their way back in. They pulled within two at one point, but a Silveira dunk off a nice feed from Long quelled the momentum. Moments later, a 6-0 run from the Tars pushed the lead to double digits at 68-58.
Eckerd once again made a run, coming all the way back to 70-69 with three minutes to play. The Tars turned to Marion and Silveira for a pair of paint buckets, giving them a three possession cushion. Down the stretch, Marion and
Cameron Corcoran each converted their free throws to help Rollins hold on for a big 80-74 conference road win.
Marion ended the night with 27 points, and also added six assists and four rebounds. Potter scored 20 points on 6-7 shooting from deep, and collected five rebounds as well. Silveira was a force down low with 12 points, nine rebounds, and a block.
Rollins will be back in action at home for the first time since December 3rd when they host the Florida Tech Panthers on Sunday, January 1st. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 pm, following the women;s game at the Alfond Sports Center.
