DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 2, 2023) - The men's basketball season has come to a close after an 80-63 loss in the SSC semi-final against Embry-Riddle on Thursday evening. The Tars finish the year with a 15-15 record, including 10-10 in conference play.
Rollins got off to a sluggish start, not scoring until the 16:37 mark on a
Kyle Marion jumper. The offense picked things up a bit thanks to threes from
John Latimer III and
Cade Long, pulling the Tars within five at 13-8. While Rollins attempted their comeback, the defense stepped up in a big way, with
Hutton Yenor blocking two Embry-Riddle shots on back-to-back possessions.
Shots simply were not falling for the Tars as they struggled to find any sort of rhythm on offense. During a three-minute stretch near the halfway point of the first half, the only points came on a pair of jumpers from Yenor. Meanwhile, the Eagles began to pull away, going up by as many as 15 when they hit a jumper at the 7:15 mark to make it 29-14. By the 3:20 mark, the score reached 41-21. The two teams went into the break with ERAU up by 19.
The Tars defense gave the team a chance to come back with a tenacious effort to start the second half. They did not allow the Eagles to score until 16:18 left. Meanwhile, a couple of
Matheus Silveira layups and a Latimer triple made it a twelve point game.
Following the second media timeout of the half, the Tars were able to bring the Eagles advantage all the way down to single digits at 55-46. Unfortunately, that would be the best they could muster. Embry-Riddle refused to allow any sort of offensive run from the Tars as they took their time on offense, slowed the game down, and let the clock run. Yenor was able to cash in on the final shot of his collegiate career with 28 seconds left, a fitting end to a stellar career. Embry-Riddle advances to the SSC championship following their 80-63 win.
Yenor was the leading scorer for Rollins with 24 points. He also added six rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two steals. Marion had 14 points and five dimes, while Latimer added 14 points and five rebounds. Rollins struggled from distance in this one, shooting just 6-21 (28.6%) from three, well below their season average.
Hutton finishes his career with 1,841 points, the fifth-highest mark in school history. He also jumps to fifth all-time with 176 steals, as well as the third-most field goals made all-time with 663.
