DAYTONA BEACH, Fla (February 22, 2023) - A slow start was negated by an amazing run late as the Rollins Tars took down the Embry-Riddle Eagles on Wednesday evening, 78-74. Rollins now sits at 14-13 on the year, but more importantly, 10-9 in SSC play. Embry-Riddle drops to 17-9, 10-9 SSC.
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John Latimer III triple were the points scored by Rollins in the first few minutes of the game, but back-to-back jumpers from
Hutton Yenor closed the gap to 11-7 at the first media timeout. Next up for Rollins was more than four minutes of scoreless play, though their defense kept them in the game.
Cameron Corcoran knocked down a three to snap the cold streak entering the second media. Coming out of the break, Embry-Riddle grew a lead as high as 22-10 with eleven minutes to go.
Over the next six minutes, Rollins changed the momentum of the game with outstanding effort on defense and an offense that started to click. The Tars went on an 11-2 run in that stretch, led by five points off the bench from
Cody Potter. The score was changed to 24-21 on a Yenor jumper, keeping it close. Moments later, makes from
Kyle Marion and
Matheus Silveira actually gave the Tars a lead, 27-26. An 8-2 run from the Eagles in the last 90 seconds gave them a 34-32 lead at the horn.
Despite the best effort from the Tars, Embry-Riddle controlled the second half to start. Marion and Latimer pulled Rollins within a possession, but the Eagles soon had a lead as high as eight with thirteen minutes left, and twelve with just under ten minutes to go. They maintained a double-digit lead for four minutes between 9:46-5:46, looking like they had the game in the bag.
A pair of Marion free throws and a three-point play from Yenor took care of the double-digits, and made the score 70-63. In the next two minutes of play, the two teams exchanged makes, with Embry-Riddle scoring on a Nikola Jerotic jumper with 3:10 to go, making it a 74-67 ballgame. That would be it for the Eagles for the night. First, Latimer and Silveira got in the paint for buckets on back-to-back possessions. After a missed three, Latimer got to the free-throw line for one point. Then it was Yenor tying things up on a fallaway jumper in the paint with under a minute to play. Embry-Riddle missed another jumper, leading to a Marion make off a nice feed from Corcoran, giving Rollins a 76-74 lead. The Eagles missed their opportunity to tie things up, and Yenor added two from the line to make the final of 78-74.
Yenor ended the game with 17 points and 10 rebounds, his second double-double of the season. He also added seven assists. Latimer scored 15, Marion chipped in 14 points with four assists and four steals, and Silveira scored 14 as well.
The win keeps Rollins in the run for the #4 seed in the SSC tournament next week. Int he opening round, the top four seeds each host their respective game. However, before they worry abou the playoffs, the Tars will need to handle business at home on Saturday against Palm Beach Atlantic. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 pm, with Yenor being honored before the game as the lone graduate for the 2023 class.
