ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (February 9, 2022) – Despite 30 points from
Kyle Marion and 25 points from
Hutton Yenor, the Rollins men's basketball team fell 87-82 at Eckerd on Wednesday night. The loss drops the Tars to 13-11 overall, 8-8 in conference play, while Eckerd improves to 5-14 and 3-10 in league games.
Marion scored his game-high 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting, including 6-of-12 from behind the arc, while also grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Yenor was 8-of-14 from the field and 5-of-7 from three to get his 25 points, while also tallying four rebounds and four assists.
Brooks Cluxton chipped in with 13 points and a game-high eight assists to go along with seven boards.
GianFranco Grafals led Eckerd with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting and added six rebounds and six assists. Daniel Love had 22 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while Kent Garard added 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Leonard Okiti was an efficient 5-of-6 from the field, scoring 11 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Half
- Yenor opened the scoring with a triple 33 seconds into the game.
- The Tars quickly opened up a gap, leading 8-2 with 17:29 to go and 21-10 less than seven minutes into the contest.
- Eckerd then rattled off 15 straight points to take a 25-21 just past the midway point of the first half.
- The Tritons continued to push, extending their lead to 38-26 with 4:14 left in the half.
- Rollins closed out the period on a 9-0 spurt, getting to within three at 40-37 at the halftime break.
Second Half
- As in the opening half, Yenor was the first to find the basket in the second half, nailing a three just 14 seconds in that tied things up at 40.
- A Dayton Gumm fastbreak layup just over two minutes into the half put Rollins back in front, 46-45.
- Shortly thereafter, Eckerd using a quick 7-0 spurt to go up 55-50.
- The Tritons maintained that lead until a Yenor triple with 5:11 on the clock put Rollins back on top, 68-67.
- The lead would change hands five more times in the following 2:15, with Eckerd's Love getting a steal and a layup with 2:56 to go to put the Tritons ahead for the last time, giving the home team a 74-73 lead.
- A Cluxton layup with 35 ticks on the clock cut the deficit to two (81-79), but Love connected on a jumper with 14 seconds left and made a pair of free throws in the final seven seconds, securing the win for Eckerd. The Tritons would hang on for an 87-72 victory.
UP NEXT:
Rollins will be back at home on Saturday, Feb. 12, as they play host to Saint Leo at 4 p.m. inside Warden Arena.
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