weekly_121905

WEEKLY ATHLETIC SCHEDULE

Thursday, December 29 – Friday, December 30 – Winter Park Rotary Tangerine Tournament

Thursday, December 29 – Alfond S.C.

Hillsdale (Mich.) vs. Mansfield – 6 p.m.
Rollins vs. New Jersey Tech – 8 p.m.

Friday, December 30 – Alfond S.C.

Consolation game – 6 p.m.
Championship game – 8 p.m

Rollins forward John Thinnes (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the Tars offense in two of their three games last week, averaging 13 points per game. The junior poured in 18 points in the Tars victory over Webber International before tallying nine against Central Arkansas and 12 versus Central Missouri State. He scorched the nets, shooting 50 percent from the field (15-30), including 7-15 from long range during the week. Thinnes is averaging 11.4 points per game this season, which is third best on the team.

After taking a week off for final exams, the Rollins women's basketball team traveled to central Georgia for a clash with Georgia College and State University. The Tars were sluggish coming out of the gate, but stepped up the defense down the stretch and came out with a 71-62 victory. Now at 9-0, the Tars are off to their second best start in school history. The victory also moved the Tars up four spots to 16 th in the latest USA TODAY / ESPN national coaches poll.

Against the Lady Bobcats, senior forward Joslyn Giles netted 19 points and led four Tars in double figures in probably their gutsiest performance of the season.

Giles (Winter Haven, Fla.) shot 6-12 from the floor (1-3, 3 pointer) and 6-13 from the charity stripe for 19 points while also pulling down a game high 11 rebounds. Larissa McDonough (Ormond Beach, Fla.) added 15 points while Jennifer Musgrove (Palm Bay, Fla.) and Sally Johnston (Winter Springs, Fla.) each put up 11 with Johnston tallying 10 boards.

It was all Lady Bobcats (4-3) to open the game as the hosts began the night on a 6-0 run over the first 90 seconds before Johnston got the Tars on the board with a jumper at the 18:12 mark. Giles nailed a shot to pull Rollins to within three at 12-9 with 13:40 in the half only to see GC&SU roll off a 6-0 run over the next two minutes and take a 10-point advantage. The gritty visitors from Winter Park fought back and knotted the score at 24 after a pair of Musgrove free throws with five minutes to go. Rollins turnovers on their next two possessions stoked a 7-0 Lady Bobcats run over the next minute, only to have Rollins come back and tie the score at 34 with a Johnston jumper to end an eventful first period.

The teams traded baskets to begin the second stanza with Giles knotting the score at 44 with a jumper at the 13:02 mark and putting the Tars up for good at 46-44 with another basket on the next trip down the floor. The Tars outscored the Lady Bobcats 16-7 over the next eight minutes to build their advantage to 11 with 4:20 remaining and were able to hold on down the stretch for their ninth straight victory.

GC&SU threw up 72 shots in the contest, connecting on 23 (31.9 percent) while the Tars hit 41.1 percent (23-56) from the floor. Rollins also controlled the boards, finishing with a 51-42 advantage.

After a chaotic start to the season, the Tars will take a long holiday break before getting into the heart of their Sunshine State Conference schedule in January. Rollins will be back in action on January 4 in Winter Park against Saint Leo with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.

The Rollins men's basketball team has a busy week as they hosted Webber on Tuesday before traveling to Sin City for the High Desert Classic over the weekend. Rollins steamrolled Webber and took care of Central Arkansas for their fourth straight win, but 14 th ranked Central Missouri State proved to be too much and sent the Tars home with a loss.

The Tars got some momentum rolling into the Las Vegas trip with a 91-71 victory over NAIA school, Webber International (2-10). Rollins got solid performances from a trio of guards. Junior guards Deon Troupe and John Thinnes each lit up the Warriors for 18 points. Thinnes was 7-12 from the floor and 3-5 from beyond the arc while also snatching two steals. Troupe was 6-10 from the floor and 5-8 from downtown while also swiping two steals. Freshman Kevin Hogan was also stroking the ball from all over the court. The Pensacola, Florida native went for a career high 16 points on 4-7 shooting and 3-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Junior forward Isaac Codrey and freshman forward Greg Sweeney each led the team in rebounds with six.

The game started with the teams trading baskets back and forth. Warrior guard Juan Alvarez drove the offense for Webber and had nine points in the first five minutes of the first half. With Alvarez carrying the scoring load, the Warriors built their biggest and only lead of the game at 19-15 with 11:53 to go. The Tars would begin to take over from there. Rollins would force 12 first half Warrior turnovers and they would make them pay for their mistakes. Rollins responded to the Warriors run by going on a 20-7 run of their own capped off by a Jon Smith three pointer. And when Deon Troupe buried another three pointer with 49 seconds left in the half it gave the Tars a 43-35 lead going into the half.

The Tars looked to bury Webber early in the second half. Rollins forced five turnovers in the first five minutes and when John Thinnes hit a trey with 15:16 to go in the game the Tars led 57-36. Webber International would never recover. The Warriors would cut the lead down to 13 with 10 minutes to go but would get no closer. The Tars finished the Warriors off with a barrage of threes, and took the game 91-71.

Rollins shot 47 percent (30-64) from the field and 42 percent (14-27) from beyond the arc. The Tars were in the passing lanes all night and tallied 16 steals on the evening to the Warriors' five. The Tars forced 25 turnovers in all and scored 38 points off of the Warriors mistakes.

The Tars first game of the High Desert Classic proved to be a successful one as Rollins was hitting on all cylinders and disposed of UCA, 62-51. Junior forward Isaac Codrey came off the bench to lead the Tars in scoring with 13 points and also grabbed four rebounds. Freshman guard Kevin Hogan was the only other Tar in double figures as he finished with 12 points. Hogan shot the lights out from beyond the arc, hitting three of four from long distance. Sophomore point guard, Jonny Reibel had another solid game as he contributed nine points, six assists, five boards and a steal. John Thinnes struggled early, but came up very clutch for the Tars late in the game. The junior guard finished with nine points, and shot two of five from long range. Both of the three's Thinnes hit came in the final three minutes of the second half.

Jonny Reibel jump started the Tars offense as he hit three jumpers to begin the game to give the Tars a 6-2 lead in the first five minutes. The Bears would respond to Reibel's early surge and take their biggest lead of the game at 18-14 on a Darryl Jones three pointer. From there the Tars would gain the advantage. Rollins went on a 14-5 run capped off by a three pointer by freshman Greg Sweeney that gave Rollins a 28-23 lead with 3:58 left in the first half. The Tars would go into the half with a 30-27 advantage.

The Bears would come out on fire in the first five minutes of the second half. Central Arkansas hit four out of their first five shots and cut the Tars lead to one at 37-36. The Bears would take the lead briefly at 40-39 at the half way point of the second half. That's when Tars coach Tom Klusman went to his bench, and Isaac Codrey responded in a big way. Codrey got a big three point play down in the post to put the Tars up 44-41 and continued to make big plays throughout the second half. John Thinnes had ice running through his veins as he hit two clutch treys in the final three minutes to put the game away. And the Tars walked away with a 62-51 win.

As a team, Rollins shot the ball very well finishing up at 59 percent overall. They also stroked it well from beyond the arc for the second game in a row, shooting right at 50 percent. The Tars bench once again dominated the opposing team as the Rollins reserves outscored the Bears reserves 34-15.

The final game of the Tars trip left a sour taste in their mouths as host Central Missouri State, the 14 th ranked team in the nation, sent Rollins home with an 89-55 loss.

Junior guard, John Thinnes was the only Tar in double figures, finishing with 12 points and three assists. Sophomore point guard Jonny Reibel contributed nine points, six assists, and six boards.

Rollins came out of the gate sluggish. The Tars failed to establish an offensive rhythm from the get go, and allowed the Mules to gain an early advantage. Central Missouri State grabbed a 23-11 lead with 9:05 left in the first on a three pointer by Michael Hicks. Over the next seven minutes, the Mules would continue to pressure the Tars and CMSU went on a 19-7 run to push their lead to 24. The Tars went in at the half down 48-29.

The Tars started the second half with some good looks at the basket that just wouldn't go down. Rollins toughened up on the defensive end and limited their turnovers but still could not trim the lead. Then at the 10:25 mark, Coach Tom Klusman was ejected for arguing with the referees about the game's intense physical nature. The bench was whistled with three technical fouls in one sitting. Mules guard Michael Hicks hit five of the six free throws and put CMSU up 69-43. The Mules would pile it on at the end and take the game 89-55.

The Tars struggled on the boards against a very aggressive Mules team. CMSU out-rebounded Rollins 42-31. The Mules forced 15 turnovers and capitalized on the Tars mistakes for 25 points.

Rollins will take a week off before hitting the hard wood in the Winter Park Tangerine Tournament at the Alfond Sports Center. Hillsdale and Mansfield kick off play at 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 29 with the Tars taking on New Jersey Tech at 8 p.m. Friday's consolation game begins at 6 p.m. with the championship to follow at 8 p.m.

Sponsorship is needed for the Tars men's and women's basketball broadcasts on WPRK 91.5. If you are interested, please contact Sports Information Director Nate Weyant at nweyant@rollins.edu or 407-646-2661.