WINTER PARK, Fla. (January 4, 2023) - Nova Southeastern showed why they are considered a national champion favorite following their 100-58 win over Rollins in Winter Park on Wednesday evening. The loss drops the Tars to 5-8 on the year (2-4 SSC) while the Sharks stay undefeated at 13-0 (6-0 SSC).
Nova Southeastern got out to a quick 6-0 lead and didn't look back in the first half.
John Latimer III put the Tars on the board with a pair of free throws, followed by a fast break dunk from
Sergey Grishaev to make it 8-4 early on. As Rollins worked hard to break the Sharks' press, they were not able to get great looks at the basket, and had a cold streak of more than five minutes without a bucket. Meanwhile, Nova Southeastern, who averages 107 points per game, was knocking down shots left and right. They took a 56-24 lead into half time.
Rollins came out of the break with a better game plan, and were able to find their scoring stroke. They had a nice 14-6 run about six minutes into the half, with five different players scoring in a variety of ways.
Cade Long got hot in the second half, knocking down a pair of threes while also dishing out two assists. Grishaev also played tough in the second half on both ends of the court. In the end though, it was too much Nova as they shot an impressive 48.8% from three on 43 attempts and 56.3% from the field overall.
Long led the Tars with 14 points. Latimer III had 11, and Grishaev carded ten.
Rollins will head to Tampa on Saturday, January 7 for their next game. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 pm.