DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (December 18, 2023) - Men's basketball suffered their fifth-straight loss, falling this afternoon to the Montana State University - Billings Yellowjackets, 81-70. The Tars now stand at 3-7 on the year, while the Yellowjackets improve to 8-4.
Billings jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, but the Tars came roaring back to pull within 13-9 at the first media timeout thanks to a
Cade Long three.
Matheus Silveira and
Sergey Grishaev would keep Rollins in the game as they combined to score on three straight possessions.
The Yellowjackets would grow their lead to 13 at one point, but threes from
Dylan Wolle and Grishaev kept the Tars afloat. At the 6:30 mark, the Tars' three big men ... Silveira, Grishaev, and
Jaden Frazier each scored to pull Rollins to 34-28. Twice in the last seven minutes, the Tars' defense held Billings scoreless for a stretch of more than three minutes.
Kyle Marion scored five points in the final minute of the half, but Jalen Tot's layup buzzer-beating layup kept it a 43-37 advantage at half.
Both teams shot well in the first period, with the Jackets making at a 53% clip, while Rollins was an even 50%. Long distance shooting was the difference as MSU knocked down 10-18 attempts from deep while the Tars only managed 5-15 shooting.
Silveira was the only Tar to find the basket for the first four minutes of the second half before Grishaev joined him in the scorebook with a pair of free throws. After the Yellowjackets extended their lead, a nice three-point play from
Kyle Marion brought the Tars back to within eight at 59-51.
Billings maintained their lead for the next stretch of game play as the Tars couldn't quite put together a run. It seemed that everytime they scored, the Yellowjackets were quick to respond.
The last 80 seconds provided a bit of drama as Long hit a three and a layup, followed by a triple from Marion with 55 seconds to go that made it a 74-70 game. Unfortunately, Billings would close the game on a 7-0 run as they knocked down their free throws, making the final of 81-70.
Silveira was the high man for Rollins, scoring 20 points on 8-9 shooting while snagging six rebounds. Marion and Grishaev were next up with 15 points each, and Long added ten with five assists. Jalen Tot was the game's leading scorer with 32 points to lead the Yellowjackets.
Rollins will have some time off before returning to the court on Saturday, December 30th. It will a SSC showdown in Winter Park as they host the Saint Leo Lions for a 4:00 pm tip from Warden Arena.
