LAKELAND, Fla. (February 8, 2023) - Rollins put together an amazing comeback late in the second half to force overtime, but could not find their shooting stroke in the extra frame as they fell 124-113 to Florida Southern on Wednesday. The Tars now stand at 11-12 on the year, with a 7-8 record in SSC play.
Southern started the game with five points in the first minute, but Rollins answered back quickly to tie the game on a
Kyle Marion three. The Mocs then controlled the next few minutes, growing their lead as high as nineteen at 33-14 with just under ten minutes to go.
Hutton Yenor and
Matheus Silveira then locked in on offense, scoring 11 combined points in the next two minutes. Florida Southern played strongly for the remainder of the half, maintaining a double-digit lead for the final seven minutes until a Yenor triple made it the halftime score of 50-41.
The second half played to the same script as the Moccasins never let the Tars score more than twice in a row. It wasn't until a Yenor three with just over six minutes to play that the lead went to single digits at 82-74. Florida Southern did not let the momentum get away from them yet, and soon they were holding a 99-85 advanatge with 1:44 to go in the game.
That's when the Tars went to work. It started with a Yenor layup off a feed from
Cade Long. After Southern took a shot and missed, using only five seconds of game clock,
Kyle Marion was fouled and knocked down a pair of free throws. Marion than stole the ball from Dominick Denny, and was fouled on a three-point attempt. He proceeded to knock dow all three freebies. Southern scored on their next two possessions, but a
John Latimer III jumper sandwiched between them kept Rollins in the game. Next, Marion came through once more with a three, cutting the lead to 103-97 with 45 seconds to go.
Florida Southern missed the front end of a one-and-one, and in turn Rollins got one point on a free throw from Yenor. Another Rollins intentional foul put the Mocs on the line, where they missed the front end again.
Sergey Grishaev seized the opportunity, grabbing the rebound and going coast-to-coast for a layup to make it 103-100. On the ensuing inbounds play, Denny was called for an offensive foul, giving the Tars a chance to tie the game. With seven seconds left, they would do just that as Latimer cashed a three-pointer to send the game to overtime.
Unfortunately, the Tars used up all their good fortune in the final minutes of regulation. They missed their first seven shots in overtime, while Southern enjoyed a 9-0 run. Latimer and Yenor each scored five points in the extra period, but it would not be enough as Southern held on for the 124-113 win.
Yenor led the Tars with a career-high 35 points on 54% shooting and five three-pointers. Silveira added 20 points and 8 boards while Marion checked in with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Grishaev snatched eleven rebounds off the bench to lead the team.
Next up for Rollins is a trip to Boca Raton to face the Lynn Fighting Knights. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 pm on Saturday, February 11.
