Short- Handed Tars Hang On To Knock Off Pesky Eagles

 The Rollins College Tars were playing a little short-handed on Saturday playing without Jon Latimer and Matus Malovec but they hung on to hold off a pesky University of Fort Lauderdale team 75-72 at Warden Arena inside the Alfond Sports Center. 

 Rollins (3-1) had five players score in double figures on the day paced by 24 points, 6 assists, and a steal from Beau Frericks. Emillis Butkus netted 15, Ian Hart knocked down four triples on his way to 13 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Dylan Wolle added 10, and Sergey Grishaev chipped in 10 of his own to go along with eight rebounds. 

 UFL (2-2) was led by Jimel Cofer who scored all 20 of his points in the second half, Vugar Kuliev added 16, Benez Woodard tallied 11, and De'Andre Pemberton scored 10. Cofer led the Eagles with seven rebounds, while Pemberton had a team leading three assists and four steals. 

 The two teams traded baskets in the early going and we were knotted at six at the 13:54 mark of the opening half. The game was knotted at 11 midway through the opening stanza. Two free throws by Butkus and a layup by Frericks made it a four point Rollins lead (15-11) just over a minute later. The Tars lead grew to eight (23-15) on a Butkus three-point play with 4:32 until halftime. Rollins would close the first half with a flurry as Grishaev hit a pair of free throws and Hart knocked down a 3-ball at the first half buzzer to take a 37-24 lead into the locker room. The Tars shot 54.5 percent in the opening half, 75 percent (3-4) at the free throw line, and 83.3 percent (10-12) from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes. 

 The Eagles were stymied by the Tars switching defenses and they switched to a zone for much of the first half, UFL shot just 32.2 percent in the opening stanza, 16.7 percent (1-6) from the 3-point line, and 60 percent (3-5) at the free throw line in the first half. 

After the two teams traded baskets to start the opening half the Eagles started to make a comeback. They got to within single digits before a Braxton Barnhizer free throw made it 40-30 in favor of the home team. A Cofer 3-pointer and a layup on a run out by Chris Berry would cut the Rollins lead in half. The Tars would hold that lead until a Cofer 3-pointer at the 9:59 mark gave UFL a 52-50 lead. That lead would grow to five (56-51) after a Cofer tip in at the 8:12 mark. It would be a 60-54 Rollins deficit before a Hart triple made it a 3-point game with 5:44 on the clock. Down five at the 4:59 mark Rollins got another Hart three, a pair of Frericks free throws, and a triple by Wolle at the 4:01 mark to give them the lead right back. Two Cofer free throws cut it to one but Frericks saw an open lane got the shot to go and was fouled, he converted the free throw to extend the lead to four (68-64.) After some stout Tars defense a 3-pointer by Wolle made it a seven point game at the 1:46 mark. Kuliev and Woodard would knock down triples for the Eagles and it would be 71-70 Rollins with 57 ticks remaining. Again, the Tars got the ball in the hands of Frericks and he got to the rim as he had all day. His layup made it a three point game. After a block by Hart and a Wolle rebound the Tars called timeout. The game was sealed as they broke the Eagles pressure and Grishaev ended up with a jam to seal it. 

 For the game Rollins shot 50 percent from the field, 42.1 percent (8-19) from the 3-point line, and 77.8 percent (21-27) from the free throw line. Rollins won the rebounding battle 36-31. They had 13 assists and 21 turnovers in the contest. 

 The Eagles shot 42 percent from the field, 35.7 percent (5-14) from the 3-point line, and 64.3 percent (9-14) at the free throw line. UFL had 10 assists and 11 turnovers in the contest. 

 Rollins will be back in action as they start conference play at home Wednesday night. The Tars battle Palm Beach Atlantic at Warden Arena. Tip time is slate for 7 PM.