TAMPA, Fla. (February 14, 2026) - Men's basketball suffered a conference road loss on Saturday, falling to the Tampa Spartans by a score of 88-81. The Tars now stand at 13-12 on the season with a 7-10 record in SSC play. The Spartans improve to 13-10, 7-9 SSC.
The game started with a tight back-and-forth battle.
Jah Nze opened the scoring with a three, and moments later big man Mayson Qurtlebaum knocked one down as well to reclaim the lead for the Tars. They would hold the advantage until about 13 minutes left in the first when Tampa used two free throws to go ahead 13-12. Their lead grew as high as eight at 24-16, but Rollins was ready to claw back in to the game.
Using their size advantage, Rollins scored their next six points in the paint, courtesy of Quartlebaum,
Ricky Ghedini, and
Matus Malovec. At the five-minute mark, Nze knocked down another triple to tie the game at 26. The two teams then tied at 30, 32, and 34 before the Spartans converted two buckets in the final minute to claim a 38-34 halftime lead.
Rollins shot well in the first half, going 12-25 (48%) but only landed three of 13 three-point attempts. They also trailed Tampa in the free throw department as the Spartans converted 13-15 compared to 7-12 for the Tars.
The second half saw Nze open scoring again, this time with a tough drive in the paint. Moments later, three-pointers from Ghedini and
Omar Figueroa had the Tars ahead 45-44 at the 16 minute mark.
Coming out of the first media timeout, the game turned into a wild one. Neither team was able to score a field goal from 15:54-12:20. During that time frame, Rollins was whistled for six fouls, putting Tampa in the bonus with 13:29 left to play.
Despite the lack of offense, it was still a one-possession game for much of the half. This led to a whopping twelve lead changes and ten ties in the second half alone.
Rollins hit their biggest lead at the 6:14 mark when Ghedini knocked down a pair to make the score 68-64. However, the Spartans were able to force a couple of turnovers, as well as get to the free throw line plenty, leading to a 78-73 lead their way. Quartlebaum converted on a three-point play with 2:16 to play, cutting the lead to 78-76, but Rollins could not get over the hump. Tampa was 10-12 in the final 150 seconds of play from the free throw line, securing them an 88-81 victory.
Nze and Quartlebaum each had 21 points to lead the Tars scoring attack. Nze had a team-high five assists while Qurtlebaum added a team-best seven rebounds. Rollins shot 52% (12-23) from the floor in the second half, but only 6-16 from three. They were also 17-18 from the charity stripe. Unfortunately, that didn't come close to the 20 makes and 31 attempts at the line for Tampa in the second half alone.
A total of 51 fouls were called in the game, leading to 76 combined free throws. Tampa set SSC highs in the game with 33 makes and 46 attempts from the line. Rollins was 24-30 for the game.
There are three games remaining in the regular season, and each one will have a massive impact on the Tars' postseason hopes. As of posting, ten teams are still in the hunt for postseason berths, with Rollins currently sitting seventh in the standings. Their next chance to improve their position will come at home on Wednesday, February 18 when they host the Barry Buccaneers. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
