Latimer Goes Coast to Coast for Tars Victory

WINTER PARK, Fla. (January 8, 2025) - Men's basketball took home a thrilling victory on Wednesday, defeating the Saint Leo Lions 72-70. The win propels Rollins to a 9-6 record (2-4 SSC), while the Lions drop to 7-8, 2-5 SSC.

The game began at a snail's pace, with Rollins jumping out to a 4-0 lead at the first media timeout thanks to layups from John Latimer III and Sergey Grishaev. Another jumper from the Russian would make it 6-0 before the Lions got on the board for the first time at the 14:10 mark thanks to a three from Brady Corso. 

Both offenses started working from there, including a stretch of seven straight possession ending with points. A couple of turnovers from the Tars allowed the Lions to claw their way back into the game, but Latimer and Emilis Butkus both connected on threes to maintain a small advantage. after a pair of stops, the same two would find their way into the paint for layups, growing the lead to 25-19. 

The lead would grow no bigger than two possessions for the remainder of the half, and Rollins took to the locker room with a 36-33 lead. 

The Tars came out of the break refreshed, and were able to score nine straight points to open the half. Matus Malovec nailed a three, followed by a fastbreak dunk from Grishaev to highlight the run. 

Rollins maintained a double-digit lead for the next few minutes, answering each Saint Leo make with one of their own. a layup from Latimer at 12:47 made it 54-41, and the Tars seemingly had the game in the bag. 

The Lions would not go down without a fight as they began to chip away at the lead. Corso got hot from behind the arc, knocking down four three-pointers, while Rollins was only scoring on every other possession. Before long, a dunk from Tae Wilson made it a one possession game, 67-64, with under five minutes to go. 

A Latimer three right before the final media timeout gave Rollins a 70-64 lead. The Lions would score the next six points, with their final make coming on an offensive tip-in with under a minute to play. The Tars missed a three on their next possession, giving Saint Leo a chance for the last shot. Wilson drove into traffic and fired up a wild shot that was off target. With five seconds left, Latimer collected the rebound, turned on his boosters, and made it all the way down court with a floating layup high off the glass that went in as time expired, giving Rollins the 72-70 win. 

Latimer scored a team-high 23 points on an efficient 10-16 (63%) shooting. He also added six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Grishaev was next on the list with 17 points, but made a huge impact on defense, swatting seven shots in the game. Malovec added eight points and a season-high eleven rebounds as well. 

Next up for the Tars is a home matchup with Lynn on Saturday, January 11. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 pm following the women's game.