Tars Magical Run Comes To A Close Against Valdosta State.

The Rollins College Tars magical season came to a halt Tuesday in Russelville, Arkansas with a 71-58 loss to the upstart Valdosta State Blazers. With the win Valdosta advanced to the elite 8 in Springfield, Mass. next Wednesday. The Blazers improved to 28-4 on the year and advanced to the elite 8 for the first time in school history. Valdosta goes into the elite 8 as one of the hottest teams in the country after defeating the host and top seed Wonder Boys of Arkansas Tech and Rollins in the span of 72 hours. The Tars fell to 27--6. The 27 wins tied the most ever in Rollins hoops history. It was only the second time in school history that the Tars reached the round of 16.

The game followed a similar pattern of the past five games to start. The Tars battled uphill the entire night. The Blazers would jump out to a 13-5 lead early after making six of their first seven shots on the evening. The Tars would get within 4 on two separate occasions but a 17-7 run by Valdosta would give the Blazers a 39-25 lead late in the first half. The Tars would close the half on a 6-0 run and it would be 39-31 Blazers after Senior Brock Blanchard banked home a three right before the intermission. Both teams shot the ball exceptionally well in the first half. The Blazers were 15 of 29 (51.7%) in the first half while the Tars were 13 of 25 (52%) in the opening stanza. Nikola Baran hit a pair of treys and tournament most outstanding player Nick Wolf scored 5 points including a free throw that gave the Tars a 47-46 lead. The Tars would then go ice cold from the field and would miss their next 18 shots. It would not be until 58 seconds remaining that the Tars would find the bottom of the basket. VSU made 12 free throws over the final two minutes to ice the game after a three by Kevin Harris. Marquise Robinson and Charles Belton led a 11-0 spurt that gave the Blazers a 57-47 lead. The Blazers had three players tally double figures on the evening. Marvin Dibble who came into the game averaging 8 points a game led the way with 18. Kevin Harris netted 12 off the bench while Marquis Robinson scored 11 off the Blazer bench.

The Tars were led by a pair of players in double numbers. Nick Wolf had yet another double-double scoring 16 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Myk Brown added 14 for RC. The Tars shot 36% in the game including a frigid 26% in the second half. It was still a fantastic season for the Tars. Along with a trip to the regional final the Tars also won a share of the Sunshine State Conference title with Florida Southern and won the SSC tournament title. The Tars will lose some key components on this team. Three Seniors careers came to an end. Greg Sweeney, Ryan Ferranti and Brock Blanchard. "It was quite a ride". 2009-10 will go down as one of the best ever in Rollins hoops history!!

Baran's Three Lifts Tars Into Sweet 16!

Nikola Baran nailed a three pointer as time expired to lift the Rollins College Tars (27-5) to the sweet sixteen for the second time in school history. The 74-71 win over Barry was the third time the Tars had beaten the Buccaneers in four tries this season and the second consecutive Sunday. The win was the 550th in the storied coaching career of Tom Klusman.

The Tars were led by another stellar effort from Nick Wolf. The Junior from Cincinnati had 20 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists on the evening. Baran netted 15 points, Myk Brown scored 13 despite battling flu like symptoms all day long, Matt Robertson chipped in 10 for the Tars. Rollins shot the ball very well as they shot 54% from the field and were 9 of 20 (45%) from beyond the arc. RC was 13 of 17 (77%) which was much better than the 10 of 21 they posted yesterday from the charity stripe.

The loss ended the Buccaneers season at 20-12. BU was led by Tony Dennison with 22 points. Dennison was 9-11 from the field and 3-5 from long range. Dennison also added a pair of steals and 6 rebounds. Erick Nsangou and Marvin Davis each added 12 points for Barry. The Bucs shot 60% from the field and 9 of 21 from long range in the game. BU was a miserable 6-13 (46%) at the foul line.

As has been the pattern in the past few games the Tars got off to another slow start. Barry hit the first seven shots they took and raced out to a 19-8 lead behind four buckets from Dennison. The Tars would fight back though and after a trey by Nick Wolf it would be 23-21 BU after a 13-4 Tars run (all the points in the run were scored by Baran, Wolf and Brown.) The Tars would then go on another run over the next 8 minutes and after a Myk Brown hoop would lead 35-34 with 4:02 in the half. Barry would finish the half strong and take a 41-37 lead into the locker room. Zach Trapp would bury a desperation heave at the end of the half to give the Bucs some momentum going into the locker room. The Bucs would stretch that lead out to seven at the beginning of the second half. Rollins would then go on a 12-1 run to grab a 52-49 lead with 9:49 to play. The Tars and Buccaneers would trade the lead six times over the rest of the game before the Baran three off a dish from Matt Robertson won it. The #11 Tars who are the second seed in the region will take on #8 ranked and 4th seeded Valdosta St. in the regional final Tuesday night. The Blazers eliminated the top seeded and host Wonder Boys of Arkansas Tech 72-60 on Sunday night. The tip for Tuesday's regional final is set for 9:30 PM eastern time. The Tars have been to the elite 8 once in the school's history back in 2004. With the win on Sunday night the Tars matched the most wins in a single season in school history.

Tars Survive Huntsville.

The second seeded Rollins Tars trailed by two in the waning seconds of their first round NCAA tournament game against Alabama Huntsville before Ian Scott made a layup off of a pass from Myk Brown to send the game into overtime. Ryan Ferranti led the Tars with 13 points on the day on 6-7 shooting, and scored 4 of his 13 points in the extra session. Nick Wolf posted another double- double with 12 points and 11 boards for the Tars. Myk Brown had 10 points and Matt Robertson chipped in 8 points and 8 rebounds. Rollins shot 23-47 (49%) from the field. The second seed in the South regional won despite only hitting 3-13 from long range. Rollins also struggled at the charity stripe making just 10-21. Rollins won the battle of the boards 36-28. RC had 6 steals including two each from Ian Scott and Ferranti.

Huntsville was led by Jaime Smith. Smith had 16 points including knocking down 4 of 9 from distance. Zane Campbell was 5 of 10 from the field for his 13 points to go along with 6 rebounds. Josh Magette stuffed the stat sheet for the Chargers. Despite going just 3-12 from the field. Magette posted 8 points, 10 assists and 6 steals in the game. The Chargers shot 21-54 (39%) from the field including 9-26 from three point land. UAH was 6-8 at the foul line (75%). The Chargers came out hot and the Tars started slowly as has been the pattern for Rollins the past four games. Smith and Campbell gave the Chargers a 25-8 lead halfway thru the first half. The Tars clawed their way back in it though largely on the defensive prowess of Scott and Ferranti and a switch from a 2-1-2 to a 1-3-1 zone. A three point play by Wolf followed by another old fashioned three point play by Scott would make it 25-17 after a 9-0 Tars run. Josh yost would hit a baseline jumper to make it 27-17 but the Tars would close the first half on another 9-0 run to make it 27-26 at the intermission.

Rollins came out strong in the second half as Julian Wilkison would hit a pair of three's sandwiched around a UAH hoop to make it 32-29 for the Tars. The game would go back and forth for the next several minutes and after another Scott layup it would be knotted at 45. The Tars would then get their largest lead of the game at 6 (51-45) with a little over two minutes left. The chargers would go on a 5-0 run to then make it 51-50 with 1:44 left. UAH would take a two point lead (53-51) on a three from the corner with 39 seconds left. The Tars would answer though as Scott would get the game tying lay in on a dish from Myk Brown. The extra session would be "nip and tuck" just like the rest of the game. A Nick Wolf jumper would give Rollins the 55-53 lead with 3:39 in overtime. A Smith three would give the Chargers the lead back. Ryan Ferranti would score the last four points for the Tars in OT and the Tars would get the 59-57 OT win. The Tars improved to 26-5 on the year and will face Barry. The Buccaneers upset Florida Southern Saturday. Tip time is set for 7 PM at Tucker Coliseum. Huntsville's season came to a close at 20-7.

Tars Take Title!!

The Rollins College Tars behind a 16 point effort from tournament most outstanding player Myk Brown won the Sunshine State Conference Championship Game with a 66-59 win over Barry. The Tars (25-5) won the third title in program history and first since 2006. Rollins had three other players in double figures Sunday. Nikola Baran had 14, Nick Wolf scored 13 and was named to the all tournament team. Ian Scott gave the Tars a huge spark off the bench and added 12. RC shot 53 percent from the field. The Tars were a very solid 20 of 23 at the foul line.

Barry (19-11) was led by Tony Dennison who scored 16 points before fouling out late. Eric Nsangou posted 12 and Zach Trapp netted 11 for the Buccaneers. Barry shot 41 percent for the game and went 6 of 9 at the line. The Bucs were the team that got out of the gates quickly as they would score the games first ten points but the Tars would counter. A 6-0 RC run would make it 10-6. Barry would control most of the first half but a late first half 11-2 run punctuated by a Brock Blanchard trey would give the Tars a 29-27 halftime lead. Rollins would stretch that lead out to 8 with 15 minutes left but Barry would counter with a 8-0 run to tie it at 42 with a little over 11 minutes left. Nick Wolf would give the Tars the lead for good on a layup with 10:57 to go. Rollins would stretch the lead out to seven before Barry would make it a three point game with 1:08 left. Willie Whitfield would make a free throw to cut the lead to 2 late. The Tars would then close it out on a series of big plays. Ian Scott and Brock Blanchard would come up with free throws late and Ryan Ferranti would also have a huge offensive rebound. The Tars will head to the regional tournament where they will face the University of Alabama Huntsville. The date and time will be announced Monday. Florida Southern and Barry also join Rollins in the region from the SSC. Arkansas Tech is the host and top seed. Clark Atlanta, Valdosta State and Tuskegee will be in the region.

Tars Rally Late, Top Eckerd In A Thriller.

The Rollins College Tars despite trailing 42-27 with 17:34 to go advanced to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Sunshine State Conference Championship Game with a 72-65 win over the Eckerd Tritons. The Tars had three players in double figures on the day. Nick Wolf led the way with 27 points, including 23 in the second half. Myk Brown made 12 of 16 free throws and scored 16 points. Nikola Baran added three triples on his way to a 13 point game. The Tars shot 46 percent (18 of 39) from the floor. Rollins shot 46 free throws making good on 34 of them. With the win the Tars improved to 24-5 on the year.

Eckerd was led by three players in double numbers also. Zaronn Cann led the way with 16 points. Lance Kearse posted 15 and Woody Taylor added 10 for the Tritons. Eckerd shot 25-52 (48%) from the floor. The Tritons were 10 of 14 at the stripe. EC won the battle of the boards 29-26.

The Tars would open the game with a drive by Myk Brown and he would split a pair of free throws. That would be the Tars only lead of the first half. They would fall behind 10-4 early. Eckerd would control much of the first half and it would be 36-27 Tritons at the intermission. EC would come out in the second half and go on a 6-0 run to make it 42-27. The Tars would then begin their comeback with a 18-7 run and it would be a four point Eckerd lead (49-45) with 12 minutes left. Brock Blanchard would hit the layup that cut the lead to four. Eckerd would then go on another run and stretch the lead back out to 13 with 9:26 to go. Kearse would nail a trey to make the margin 13. The Tars would then get two monster three pointers from Nikola Baran and a pair of Ian Scott free throws to lessen the lead. Baran would hit two more jumpers and all of the sudden the Tars were within one at 60-59 with five minutes to go. Wolf and Baran would do the rest down the stretch to get the Tars the 72-65 win, Wolf scoring the game's final eight points. The Tars will face Barry in Sunday's Blue Cross and Blue Shield Sunshine State Conference Final. The Bucs upset Florida Southern later on Saturday. Tip time at the "Shark Tank" is set for 1 PM.

Tars Dispose of Tampa, Eckerd Next.

The Rollins College Tars rode a solid second half especially on the defensive end to a a 73-54 win over Tampa in the first round of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Sunshine State Conference First round at Warden Arena on Wednesday night. All eight Tars who played scored on Wednesday with 3 scoring in double figures. Myk Brown led the way with 18 points, Nick Wolf added 15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists for Rollins. Nikola Baran was a perfect 4 of 4 from long distance for his 12 points. The Tars shot 27-47 (57%) in the game including 14 of 22 (64%) in the second half. Rollins was 6 of 10 from three point range and 13 of 19 (68%) at the charity stripe. The Tars hammered the Spartans on the boards 36-21.

Tampa had a pair of players tally in double numbers on Wednesday. Rashaad Callway had 13 points on just 6 of 20 shooting. Anthony Lebruno added 11 on 4 of 8 from the floor. Callum Townsend chipped in 9 for Tampa. The Spartans shot 22-56 (39%) on the evening. UT was a frigid 9 of 34 (27%) from beyond the arc. Tampa only attempted 4 free throws on the night, only making one of them.

The two teams traded three pointers and it looked as thought it was going to be a shootout in the early going. Wolf and Nikola Baran hit the triples for the Tars while Lebruno added a pair of treys for the Spartans. Julian Wilkison would make a layup to ingnite a 16-3 run that would make it 22-9 Tars with 12:37 in the first stanza. The Tars would stretch that lead out to 15 but UT would finnish the half strong. After a 18-6 UT run to close the half it would be 35-31 at the break.

Whatever Tom Klusman, Brad Ash and Zach Pancratz had to say in the locker room worked quite well in the second half. Tampa would get to within 2 with 15:00 to play but that is as close as the game would get. The Tars would play outstanding defense and get several layups on back door cuts to dominate the second half. The Tars would lead by as many as 20 (65-45) and go on to the 73-54 win. Rollins will travel to Nova Southeastern on Saturday to face the Eckerd College Tritons at noon at the Don Taft University Center. The Tritons were 86-62 winners over Nova. Barry and Florida Southern will battle in the other semifinal. You can listen to all the Tars action with Jim "The Shooter" Ferro and Nate Weyant on Saturday afternoon on 91.5 WPRK in Winter Park and worldwide at RollinsSports.TV

Cedarville Rallies Late Ends Falcons Season!

The Notre Dame Falcons had a 4 point lead late and could not hang on as they fell 74-73 to the Yellow Jackets of Cedarville Tuesday night at Murphy Gym. Cedarville with the win improved to 25-8 and became the second team along with Walsh from the AMC South to advance to the NAIA national tournament. The Falcons season came to a close at 19-12.

The Yellow Jackets had four players score in double figures Tuesday. Austin Foote and Chris Beals led the way with 17 and 15 points respectively. Matt Harner chipped in 10 and Derrick Hannon had 10 including a floater with 2.6 seconds remaining that proved to be the game winner.

Cedarville shot 46% from the field including a sizzling 11 of 19 from long range. The Jackets were 9 of 13 from the charity stripe.

NDC was led by four players in double digits. Eric Dummermuth led the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Nick McCartney added 15 for the blue and white. Karim McFarlane had 15 and Al Miller added 10 in each of their final games on College road. Danny Wright and Cory Emmerine both completed their careers at NDC. Wright did not play and Emmerine played less than a minute. NDC shot 53% from the field but struggled from beyond the arc going 4 of 12. The Falcons shot 15-20 (75%) at the charity stripe. Cedarville won the battle of the boards 30-29.

It was Cedarville that got off to a hot start and led 12-4 early. The Falcons would get the Cedarville lead down to 1 at 20-19 with a little under 13 minutes in the half after a McCartney trey. A triple by Haddon Anderson would make it 28-21 Jackets halfway thru the first half. Once again the Falcons would get within 2 (33-31) on another McCartney three pointer. A run by the Jackets would make it 41-35 at the half.

The next ten minutes would be played fairly evenly before a 5-0 run by the Jackets would make it 61-53. The Falcons would go on a 8-0 run and Al Miller would tie the game with a triple at the 5:45 mark. The Jackets would go on a 6-0 run (all 6 points by Ricardo Alliman) to make it 67-61 with a little over 4 to play. NDC would go on a 10-0 run and lead 71-67 with 1:34 left. Nick McCartney would counter a pair of free throws by Chris Beals with two of his own to make it 73-69 with just 22 seconds to play. Beals would hit a 3 to make it 73-72 with 14 seconds. McCartney would then miss the front end of a 1 and 1. That would set up Hannon's heroics. Al Miller would have a 3 to win it but it would be off the mark. The Falcons will have several players returning in 2010-11 including Sophomore captains Dummermuth and McCartney. It should be a good squad next year but somehow they will have to replace Karim McFarlane.