FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (February 25, 2026) - Men's basketball gave everything they had in Wednesday's battle at #1 Nova Southeastern, but came up just short in the upset bid, falling by a final of 75-69. The Tars end their regular season with a 13-15 record including a 7-13 mark in the SSC. The Sharks improve to 23-1, 18-1 SSC.
Rollins got off to a slow start as Nova Southeastern jumped out to a 9-0 lead. The Tars got their first bucket on a
Mayson Quartlebaum layup just before the first media timeout. Things didn't change much after the break as the Sharks extended their lead to 19-2 about seven minutes into the game.
The Tars kept fighting though, and received a nice jolt off the bench from
Cheo James, who knocked down three threes in the first half. A free throw from Dallas Graziani with nine minutes left made the score 33-19. But that is when the Tars mounted their comeback.
A pass from
Ricky Ghedini found
Michael Kalina for a layup. After a stop,
Marshall Klug connected on a jumper. The Tars defended their territory again, leading to one of James' threes, cutting the lead to seven. A round of misses ate some time, but Klug found space once more with another jumper, making it 33-28.
Nova Southeastern did eventually score again, but the Tars had a new wave of momentum. Even though they trailed 43-36 at the half, they showed they were able to hang.
The start of the second half saw
Jah Nze knock down a couple free throws, followed by a three from Ghedini. The score stayed between 5-10 points in the way of the Sharks as neither team was able to make a run.
Once the game crossed the ten minute mark, Rollins found themselves within one score multiple times.
Ryan Renfro made his mark in the second half, using his size in the paint to rebound and get close looks at the hoop. His bucket with 4:56 to go brought Rollins within two, followed by a layup from Nze that tied the game at 63 with 4:23 to play.
Ryan Davis answered with a make to put Nova back on top, but it was answered with a pair of free throws from James. They repeated the order again with two free throws from Davis followed by two free throws from Renfro. Then, after two stops on the defensive end, Rollins took their first lead of the game on a Renfro freebie with 1:50 to play.
Unfortunately, on the next possession, the Sharks made a free throw, missed the second, but got the offensive rebound and turned it into a three pointer, putting them up 71-68. The Tars missed a three on their next possession, but got one free throw on an offensive board from Klug. The last two shot attempts from the Tars were no good, and they fell short of the miracle comeback, 75-69.
Nze led the Tars in the low-scoring affair with 14 points. James set a new career-high with 11 points, with Renfro matching that number as well. The Tars shot 43% as a team, but were only 7-21 (33%) from three. Graziani accounted for a game high 35 points.
The Tars are done with the regular season, but still have an outside shot of sneaking in to the SSC Tournament. The remainder of the conference plays on Saturday, February 28. For Rollins to claim the #8 seed, they need all of the following to happen: Barry defeats Eckerd, Palm Beach Atlantic defeats Tampa, and Lynn defeats Florida Tech.
