Cowboys Trip Up Cold Shooting Tars!

The Rollins College Tars (3-1),  coming off one of the biggest wins in school history Friday, looked nothing like the team that dismantled Wisconsin -Green Bay.  Puerto Rico Bayamon came into Warden Arena and handed the Tars a devastating 88-82 loss.  

   Bayamon (1-1) was led by Melvin Rivera.  Rivera was one of five Cowboys in double figures with 30 points as the Cowboys were the first team from Puerto Rico to defeat Rollins since 2003.  Rivera was 12-18 from the field including ,6-11 from three point land.  Mike Gonzalez and Brian Morrales added 11 points "apiece".   Gonzalez had 7 assists and hit several crucial free throws down the stretch.  Angel Feliciano tallied a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Javier Prusso chipped in 10.  The Cowboys shot 50 percent from the field and buried 11-23 from distance. 

   The Tars (3-1) suffered their first regular season defeat on a frigid shooting evening.  Reigning conference player of the week Jeremy Sharpe was just 4 of 16 from the field, and Zach Pancratz only managed 2 of 12 shooting.  Craig Reichel led the Tars with a double- double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Hogan was 7 of 9 from the floor for his 19 points.  Sharpe added 12, while Brock Blanchard chipped in 11. The Tars once again played without super sophomore Nick Wolf, who was suspended Friday for undisclosed reasons.  Rollins was 26 of 65 (40%), but was a frigid 8 of 25 in the first half.  The Tars only made 10 of 32 3's and 20-30 at the charity stripe.  The Tars will be back in action Wednesday December 3rd, at 7:30 when they travel to Palm Beach Atlantic.  As always,  you can catch all the action on www.RollinsSports.TV and on the Citizen Bank of Tars Sports Network and 91.5 FM Winter Park. 

Tars Go "Wire To Wire" Knock Off Green bay

The Rollins College Tars, the only division two team to play in the Glenn Wilkes classic in Daytona Beach,  never trailed and defeated the Phoenix of Wisconsin- Green Bay 75-58.  Rollins (3-0) scored the first seven points of the game and never looked back in a huge nonconference win.

   The Tars, playing without super sophomore Nick Wolf for the third straight game,  had four players in double figures led by 15 points from Zach Pancratz and Kevin Hogan.  Craig Reichel and Jeremy Sharpe added 13 points "apiece" for the Tars.  Rollins shot a sizzling 60 percent from the field and went 9 of 17 from three point land.  Rollins was 12 of 17 at the charity stripe.  

   Wisonsin Green Bay (0-2) was led by 20 points from Trey Cotton.  He was the only member of the Phoenix to score in double digits.  Leading scorer Terry Evans was held to just 3 points on 1 of 7 from the field.  Green Bay shot 31 percent from the field  and went 8 of 25 from three point territory.  They out rebounded the Tars 33-31.  

    After jumping  to a 7-0 lead, the Tars built that lead up to 20 points at 34-14 late in the first half.  UWGB scored the last six points of the half to cut it to 34-20 game at halftime.  The Tars would build that lead to 19 early in the second half at 49-30 on a three ball by Kevin Hogan. 

The Phoenix would make a run to cut the lead to 56-47 with 6:16 left on a three ball by Trey Cotton. Rollins would balloon the lead to 20 and would go on to a 75-58 win.  The Tars will be back in action on Monday night at the Warden Arena as they will take on Puerto-Rico Bayamon.  Tip time is set for 7:30 and as always you can catch all the action on 91.5 FM WPRK Winter Park and on The Citizens Bank of Tars Sports Network at :

www.RollinsSports.TV

  

      

   

Balanced Attack Leads Tars!

Every Rollins College basketball player except Craig Reichel got in the score book Thursday as the  Tars routed Puerto-Rico Cayay 113-68.  Jeremy Sharpe led six Tars in double figures with 26 points in the blow out.  The Tars (2-0) had five other players in double numbers.  Zach Pancratz had 16 while Nick Wolf added 13, Kevin Hogan had 12, Julian Wilkison chipped in 11, and Brock Blanchard netted 10 for the Tars. The Tars shot a sizzling 61 percent from the field and drained 18 of 34 from long range.  

  Puerto Rico Cayay (0-4) was led by 24 points from Ghristian Casanova and 21 from Emanuel Rivera. The Bulls shot 31 percent from the field and 11-34 from distance.  

   The Tars will be back in action on Friday at 4:30 when they take on the Fighting Phoenix from UW Green Bay, tip time is set fro 4:30 in Daytona Beach.  You can catch all the action on 91.5 FM Winter Park and www.RollinsSports.TV on the Citizen Bank of Florida Tars Sports Network. 

Pistons Have "The Answer" For Cavs streak!

The Cleveland Cavaliers had won eight straight games before travelling to Auburn Hills, Michigan on Wednesday night and one big difference was in the building.  Allen "The Answer" Iverson played his first game against the Cavs since the trade that landed him in Detroit for fan favorite Chauncey Billups. Iverson was 8 of 16 from the floor and scored 23 points in the Pistons 96-89 streak stopping win.  Rasheed Wallace added 21 for the Pistons (8-3).  Detroit shot a sizzling 51 percent from the floor and knocked down 5 of 12 three's which included a big win down the stretch by Wallace that gave the Pistons the lead to stay.  Detroit also was 15 of 18 from the charity stripe.

  The Cavs (9-3) saw there 8 game streak snapped. Lebron James scored 25 points but was just 8 of 21 from the floor. Mo Williams added 25 as well.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West each scored in double numbers for the "wine and gold" with 13 and 11 points respectively.  The Cavs shot 43 percent and hit 8 of 22 threes.  The Cavs will be back in action in Saturday in Atlanta against the Hawks.  

Cavs Streak Hits Eight!!

Lebron James scored 31 points and had plenty of help from his friends in the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-82 drubbing of the New Jersey Nets Tuesday.  James was one of four Cavaliers to score in double figures on Tuesday.  Mo Williams and Delonte West scored 16 points each while Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 13 for the Wine and Gold (9-2).  The Cavaliers shot 44 percent from the field and a sizzling 10 of 17 from three point territory.  The Cavs also got to the charity strip 40 times. 

   The Nets (4-6) also had four players in double numbers led by 23 from Devin Harris.  Brook Lopez had a double-double (15 points and 13 boards) while Vince Carter added 12.  Keyon Dooling scored ten to round out the double figure scorers for the Nets.  The Nets shot 33 percent from the field and were a dismal 2 of 14 from three point land.  The Nets were also crushed on the boards 50-39.  

Tars Learning On The Fly!

When you try and incorporate four new players onto a basketball team it always has it hurdles, the Rollins College Tars are learning that now. The Tars led by 19 points from Jeremy Sharpe and 12 from Nick Wolf defeated Warner University 71-59.  The Tars built a 16 point halftime lead and never looked back. On the negative side, Rollins (1-0) only tallied 5 points in the last ten minutes.  The team who led all of Division two in three point shooting a year ago was 9-21 on Monday.  The Tars shot 46 percent from the field. 

  Warner was led by Derell Henderson who had a double-double (16 points and 13 rebounds), Lamont Hudson added 12 and Preston Adams had 13 on just 4 0f 16 shooting for Waner (2-3).  Warner shot 38 percent from the field and was a dismal 4 0f 23 (17%) from three point land.  The Tars will be back in action Thursday at the Alfond Sports center versus Puerto- Rico Mayez.  Tip time is set for 7 PM and you can catch all the action at www.rollinssports.tv and on 91.5 FM in Winter Park. 

Cavs Win Sixth Straight!

Lebron James didn't have to do by himself this time, as he got plenty of help from his friends. Speaking of friends, this 110-99 win for the Cavaliers was against long time friend and rival Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets.  Both teams were extremely sluggish in the first half, as defense was an after thought. The Nuggets led 61-58 after a half and Cavs coach Mike Brown only had one choice. At the half the Cavaliers coach had to pop in some game film of the first half and tell his team how displeased he was.  The Cavaliers responded in the second half allowing only 38 points to the high powered Nuggets offense including just 18 in the fourth quarter.  

   Maurice Williams led six Cavs in double figures with 24 points, Lebron nearly posted his first triple double of the season with 22 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds.  Daniel "Boobie" Gibson (15 points), Ben Wallace (11), and Zydrunas Ilgauskas as well as wally Sczerbiak added 10 a piece for a Cavs team that shot 57 percent for the game.  Cleveland also had 30 assists as a team and only turned the ball over 9 times.  

   The Nuggets were led by Chauncey Billups who scored 16 of his 26 points in the first quarter. Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith also scored in double figures for the Nuggets. It was the first time the Nuggets had lost to the Cavs in six meetings going all the way back to the 2005 season.  The Cavaliers will face the Utah Jazz Saturday night at the Q, tip time is set for 7 PM.   

Grady Adds To Hardware Collection!

The Cleveland Indians did not live up to the expectations for 2008 for various reasons. As we have found it in the last couple days, two guys did there part in "08".  Cliff Lee won the AL Cy Young and comeback player of the year.  Now, let's talk about the man White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen calls "Superman".  Sizemore added the Silver slugger award to his list of post season honors on Thursday.  The Tribe center fielder was honored for his 30-30 season, the first Indian in 22 years to have 30 or more home runs and 30 or more stolen bases in the same season.  This award coming just a week after Sizemore won his second straight Gold Glove for his week in the outfield in 2008. Not bad for a team that went 81-81, if we have learned one thing it is that center field and number one starter are the least of the Indians worries for 2009. 

Ho-Lee Cow! Tribe Lefty Wins Cy Young!

To think at this time a year ago Cliff Lee was not sure if he was going to be a member of the Cleveland Indians for 2008. The tribe left hander from Arkansas added another to his list of great achievements from 2008. Lee became the second straight Indian and third in franchise history to win the AL Cy Young award.  Lee who made the team out of spring training after competing for the fifth starter job with Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers compiled a 22-3 record with a 2.54 ERA.  He beat out the Blue Jays Roy Halladay who received four of the 28 first place votes. This coming just a couple weeks after Lee received the AL comeback player of the year award.  It was quite a season for the tribe left hander but he's not completely satisfied. "It's just the way I am" Lee told Anthony Castrovince Indians beat writer when asked about how he could possibly think he could win every start.  Let's hope it can carry over into 2009, the Tribe will be a force if it does. 

Tribe Gains Options, Should Make Bold Move!

The Cleveland Indians have been looking for a closer since the season ended.  Another option became available for the Tribe when Trevor Hoffman's four million dollar option was not picked up by the San Diego Padres. The Tribe, of course had interest in Hoffman the last time they were looking for a closer and settled for sticking with Bob Wickman.  This time around the Indians need to make a bold move. That bold move is very clear to me and many Indians fans right now. Trade for Huston Street.  Many of you are saying but Street was just traded, yes he was to the Colorado Rockies.  But the speculation is that the Rockies are not likely to re sign current closer Brian Fuentes and have a closer who has already done it on the big playoff stage in Manny Corpas.  With the trade of Street, the Rockies loss of Holliday and the Indians surplus of outfielders it only makes sense.  Grady Sizemore is untouchable, Matt Laporta will be around for a long time but other than that here is what I have to say. Street for Guiterrez, as much as I would like to keep Franklin around it makes a lot of sense.  Street for  Shin Soo-Choo? Probably not a deal the Tribe should make although the stock for Choo could be very high right now. The one that makes the most sense to me would be send Ben Fransisco to the Rockies for Street. Get on the phone Shapiro, you say you Delucci too. Come on Mark Shapiro you are a good GM, but if you want to be a great one you'll make this deal. It's not like you have never worked with Dan O'Dowd before. 

Owls Take Advantage Of Tars Frigid Shooting In Exhibition Finale!

Boca Raton, Fla- The Rollins College Tars gave the Florida Atlantic Owls all they could handle Monday night before falling 61-56 at FAU.  The game featured ten ties and 16 lead changes. The Tars only shoot 31 percent from the field in the game while the Owls hit 43 percent of there shots. The Tars only made 4 of 25 shots in the second half.  After 7 of 18 from long distance in the first half the Tars were only 2 of 15 from beyond the arc in the second stanza.  After being down 57-48 late, the Tars cut the deficit to two and had the ball with a minute remaining.  Nick Wolf drove the lane and Tom Klussman obviously thought there was contact and was whistled for a technical foul.  The Tars would not score again the rest of the way and that's how the game ended 61-56.  

  FAU had three players in double figures led by Carderro Njowi with 17 points, Paul Graham III added 16, and Xavier Perkins contributed 12.  Carlos Monroe was the Owls "Windex man" with 16 boards.  The Owls were 20 of 26 at the charity stripe and hit 5 of 19 from deep.  Rollins did force 18 FAU turnovers.

   The Tars were led in scoring for the second straight game by Nick Wolf (15 points), he and Jeremy Sharpe (13 points) the Tars two super Sophomores led the scoring for Rollins.  Kevin Hogan also scored in double digits as he would chip in 11.  The Tars as I mentioned earlier were 31 percent from the field and 9-33 from three.  Rollins must improve its foul shooting as they were only 13-19 from the stripe with all 19 attempts coming in the second half.  The Tars did take good care of the basketball with just 9 turnovers.  Rollins will begin regular season action Monday November 17th at 7 PM when they take on Warner University.  As always you can listen to the call from Jim "The Shooter" Ferro and Robert Seagull on 91.5 FM WPRK Winter Park and nationwide on the Citizens Bank of Tars Sports Network at:

www.RollinsSports.TV

Tars Become Gator Bait in Exhibition Opener!

The Rollins College Tars fell to the Florida Gators in front of 10, 582 fans at the O'Connell Center on Thursday night. The Gators were led by former Lake Howell star and Winter Park native Nick Calathes. Calathes, only a sophomore was one of two Gators who scored 16 points.  Chandler Parsons also scored 16 on 7 of 11 shooting. Ray Shipman (12 points) and Erving Walker (11) were also in double figures for the Gators.  Florida shot 12 of 28 from three, including a scorching 8 of 16 in the first half when they raced out to a 54-26 halftime advantage.  

   The scrappy Tars showed plenty of fight in the second half. Sophomore Nick Wolf led the way with a double- double scoring 13 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Kevin Hogan chipped in 12 for the Tars. Rollins had a hard time with the Gators full court pressure as they turned the ball over 23 times.  The Tars also broke in three transfers. Matt Robertson did not score nor did Nikola Barron. Zach Pancratz chipped in 6 and the other new member to the starting lineup Julian Wilkison who red shirted a year ago had 7.  The Tars will be back in action Monday in Boca Raton as they will take on another division one opponent Florida Atlantic, tip time is set for 7 PM and as always you can catch all the action on the Citizen Bank Tars sports network at www.RollinsSports.TV and 91.5 WPRK in Winter Park.