Late Three Ascends Saints Past Tars

WINTER PARK, Fla. (December 3, 2022) - An absolute thriller of a match between Flagler and Rollins went down to the last second, with the Saints coming out on top by a score of 94-93. The loss moves Rollins to 3-4 on the year, while Flagler improves to 5-4.

The high-scoring affair started with a miss from both sides before the points started coming in bunches. The first three minutes saw three tie scores and two lead changes. Chase Fiddler gave the Saints a 10-7 lead heading into the first media timeout after knocking down a pair of threes. 

Coming out of the break, the Tars spread the wealth on offense, scoring on four straight possessions on field goals from Hutton Yenor, Cade Long, Cody Potter, and Cameron Corcoran. This gave them a 17-15 lead, that was quickly wiped away by a 5-0 run from Flagler. After Fiddler finished a breakway layup at the rim, Corcoran connected form deep once more to tie things at 22. 

A little more than halfway through the first half, Yenor took over the offense, using his speed and power to knife through the Saints defense. He converted four free throws, and then flushed an impressive baseline dunk to tie things up once again at 29. It was a truly event matchup throughout the first half as neither team held a lead of more than three points at any time. Kyle Marion connected on a pair of triples sandwiched around a John Latimer III pull-up jumper to keep the Rollins offense in the game late in the half. The final points of the half came on a corner three at the buzzer by Jaylen Lemons, giving Flagler a 47-44 halftime lead. 

The first half numbers for both teams were impressive. Flagler shot 58.6% from the floor, 56.3% from three, and 100% from the line. Rollins countered with 51.6% from the floor, 54.5% from three, and 75% from the line. The first half saw fourteen ties and sixteen lead changes. 

Flagler would reach their largest lead of the game early in the second when a Spencer Bain three put them up 52-47 in the first minute of the half. The Tars responded with a 5-0 run thanks to buckets from Kyle Marion and Cade Long, as well as a free throw from Matheus Silveira. Both teams would exchange made threes, before a Silveira layup and two Yenor freebies made the score 59-55. 

Rollins would claim their largest lead of the game with just over 14 minutes to play when a Marion fastbreak layup made the score 65-59. the excitement was short-lived, however, as Flagler responded with a Fiddler three, a Kyle Young layup, and a Bain triple to take a 67-65 lead. 

After what felt like a dozen more lead changes, Yenor put Rollins up 85-83 with four minutes to play. The Saints connected on back-to-back threes in response, giving them a 89-85 advantage. Undeterred, Yenor and Silveira were both able to get good position in the paint and score twice to knot the score at 9 with under two to go. 

Fiddler would put Flagler up 91-89 with 90 seconds to play, but Yenor once again came through for Rollins, connecting on a jumper in the paint to tie things at 91. After a missed three from Flagler, they were whistled for a loose ball foul. Yenor was the victim, and with eight seconds on the clock, he calmly cashed both of his free throws to give the Tars a 93-91 lead. Rather than use their last time out, Flagler brought the ball up the court quickly. Lemons was able to penetrate the zone, and kicked out to a wide open Bain who knocked down a three with two seconds on the clock to give Flagler the 94-93 win. A last-second full court heave from the Tars sealed the victory for the Saints. 

The final numbers were staggering. The two teams had a total of thirty lead changes and 21 ties in the thriller. Flagler finished 19-34 from three, an impressive 55.9%. Rollins converted their threes at 50% (10-20), and also shot 52.4% from the field. 

Yenor led all scorers with a career-high 34 points to go with five rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Marion was the only other Tar in double figures, finishing with 17 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Flagler had three different players ... Fiddler, Bain, and Figueroa ... knock down at least five threes. 

Next up for the Tars is a week of finals in the classroom before they head to Miami Shores to take on the Barry Buccaneers in a SSC matchup on December 10th.