MIAMI SHORES, Fla. (December 7, 2024) - Men's basketball put together a furious comeback late in the second half, but ultimately came up short in an 87-84 loss to the Barry Buccaneers on Saturday. The Tars now stand at 5-4 on the year with a 0-3 record in SSC play. Barry improves to 5-3, 2-1 SSC.
The slugfest began right away as both teams scored on their opening possession, followed by a steal and layup from
John Latimer III to put Rollins ahead. The two teams would then trade buckets, leading to a 12-10 Barry lead at the first break.
Things slowed down in the next segment as both teams struggled to get open looks. Rollins eventually broke through with a three from
Beau Frericks, a layup from
Sergey Grishaev, and two paint points from William Job at the 9:30 mark that tied the game at 19 all.
Barry would regain the lead, holding a five-point advantage at multiple times over the next few minutes. Rollins kept chipping away, and eventually a jumper from Grishaev, folllowed by a three courtesy of
Emilis Butkus, tied the game once more at 28 with five minutes to go in the first half. Again, the two teams found themselves answering each other's makes until the Tars got the last laugh of the half when Frericks drilled a three right before the horn to make it 37-35 at the break.
The second half could not have started worse for Rollins as Barry came out hot, knocking down a three straight three-pointers and a layup to go up 46-39. The Tars were able to hang around for a while, but they hit a cold streak around the thirteen-minute mark, going scoreless for three minutes. In that time, Barry expanded their lead to 66-51. The Bucs' advantage would go as high as 17 points when a Jimel Lane layup made the score 70-53 with 8:54 to play.
Rather than pack it in, Rollins showed tremendous fight, and began their comeback attempt. It started with a Grishaev corner jumper, followed by a tough lay from Frericks. After causing a turnover, Latimer found Butkus in the paint for another two, followed by a triple from Butkus to make it a 70-62 ballgame. Barry went for a highlight reel dunk on their next possession, but it was missed, and led to an open look for three from Latimer that pulled Rollins within five points.
A Lane offensive putback ended the Tars' 12-0 run, but the momentum still favored Rollins. Grishaev nailed another corner jumper, then added one free throw on the next possession. On the ensuing play, Latimer picked Malik Stanley's pocket, and turned it into a fast break dunk. Barry got a bucket back, but Frericks followed with a nice hesi floater in the paint to keep it a two-point game, 76-74. Next up was OT Delancy scoring for Barry, followed by a layup for Butkus, creating a 78-76 score at the final media timeout.
With two minutes to go, Barry held a 81-77 lead. Latimer once again forced a turnover with quick hands, and worked himself into position for a transition three that brought Rollins just one point from a tie game with 1:16 to play.
Barry knocked down two sets of free throws, but with 13 seconds to go, Latimer knifed through the defense for a tough layup, making it 86-84. The Bucs would hit one of two free throws in their next possession to go up three. On the final Tars attempt, they passed on a tough three pointer, and were fouled on the floor. After missing the first free throw, Grishaev intentionally missed the second, hoping to tap the rebound out to a three-point shooter, but he was called for a lane violation. No further shots were taken, and the game ended 87-84.
Latimer led the Tar offense with 24 points while adding three rebounds, four assists, and five steals. Butkus chipped in twenty points and four rebounds, Frericks tallied 19 points and eight boards, and Grishaev notched 16 points, five rebounds, and four dimes. The only other Tars to score in the game were
Michael Kalina (three points) and Jobe (two points).
Rollins will have a week off to focus on final exams before returning to the court at home on Tuesday, December 17th against Flagler. Tip is scheduled for 5:00 pm from Winter Park.
