WINTER PARK, Fla. (November 22, 2023) - Men's basketball will head to Thanksgiving break on a high note following their 105-68 win over visiting Puerto Rico Bayamon. The win, Rollins' third in a row, moves them to 3-2 on the year while the Vaqueros fall to 0-3.
Bayamon was very much in the game early on as they held three separate leads before the first media timeout. The Vauqueros were hot froom the outside to start, knocking down three of their first five three-pointers. Rollins was undeterred, using big man
Matheus Silveira down low to convert easy paint points.
The teams would swap leads and ties for a while before the Tars were finally able to establish a permanent lead when freshman
Jack Kronauge knocked down a triple to put Rollins up 24-21. That sparked an 11-0 run that included makes from
Cody Potter,
Kyle Marion, and
Sergey Grishaev, ballooning the lead to 32-21. The Tars' advantage would reach as high as 19 in the first half on a Potter three, and the two teams headed into break with a 54-37 score.
Bayamon shot a very respectable 44.8% in the first half, and knocked down 8-20 threes. However, Rollins was extremely efficient on offense, missing just ten shots (22-32) for a 68.75% that included six threes of their own.
Potter and
Cade Long connected on threes on consecutive possession to open the second quarter as Rollins started the half on a 14-2 run. Around that time, the defense got a little too physical as both teams were whistled for a ton of violations. The Tars took 19 free throws in the second half alone, knocking down 17 of them, while Bayamon went 11-15 from the stripe.
Rollins used their size advantage for most of the game, relying on Silveira,
Jaden Frazier, and
Sergey Grishaev to carry the offense. The final ten minutes of the game were played mainly by subs, as Rollins held on for a 37-point win.
Silveira finished his day 11-15 from the floor for 26 points while adding five rebounds. Marion was next up with 16 points and three steals, followed by Grishaev (12 points), Potter (10 points), and
Dylan Wolle (10 points).
Next up for the Tars is the SSC opener on the road at Florida Tech. Tipoff against the Panthers is scheduled for 6:0 pm on Tuesday, November 28.
