WINTER PARK, Fla. (January 18, 2025) - After trailing early, men's basketball put forth a valiant comeback, culminating in a 87-81 overtime win against Embry-Riddle on Saturday. The win pushes the Tars to 11-7 overall and 4-5 in the SSC. The Eagles drop to 11-6, 5-4 SSC.
A pair of layups from
Emilis Butkus and
Beau Frericks had Rollins on top early.
Ian Hart then connected on a mid-range jumper, giving the Tars a 10-7 lead at the first media timeout.
Embry-Riddle changed their lineup, and rode the hot hand of Milan Skoric to take the lead halfway through the period. A couple of turnovers from the Tars led to good looks for the Eagles, who soon extended their lead to 27-16.
Rollins struggled from the field in the final five minutes of the half, but
Sergey Grishaev converted a three-point play and Butkus drilled a three right before the horn to make it a 43-34 game at the break.
John Latimer III sparked the offense to begin the second half, scoring the first twelve points of the period. His effort, coupled with strong team defense, had Rollins within two possessions by the 13:39 mark.
From there, the baton was passed to
Beau Frericks, who converted the next nine points for the Tars before Latimer got on the board with a layup to make it a 59-57 game.
Embry-Riddle made a small run, pushing their lead to 67-57 with 7:11 to go. Undeterred, the Tars continued to fight, and were able to get five quick ones from Grishaev and Latimer. The lead was dropped to 70-68 moments later when Butkus converted a tough drive.
A scary scene took place with just under two minutes left when Latimer landed awkwardly going for a rebound, leading to an early departure due to injury.
After the Eagles went 1-2 at the free throw line, Frericks nailed a corner three on a beautifully drawn up inbounds play to tie the game at 71 all. The final attempt of regulation from Butkus was halfway in before spinning out, leading to overtime.
The Eagles struck first with a three-point play, but a clutch three from
Matus Malovec knotted the score back up. After a stop,
Michael Kalina converted a free throw but Skoric hit his fifth three of the game to put ERAU up two. Frericks then took over, converting back-to-back three-point plays to give Rollins a 81-79 lead. Kalina would leak out for a layup off an inbounds play, followed by four free throws from the Tars to make the final of 87-81.
Frericks was the leading scorer for the game with 26 points on 9-14 shooting. He also added two boards and two assists. Latimer had 20 points, six rebounds, and three helpers. Butkus added 19 points and a team-high six assists.
Next up for the Tars is a road game at Florida Southern on Wednesday, January 22. Tipoff is schedule for 7:30pm from Lakeland.
