Box Score WINTER PARK, FL - Michael Volovic poured in a career-high 32 points and Florida Southern College men's basketball nearly completed a 16-point comeback in a 102-91 loss to Rollins on Monday at Warden Arena. The Moccasins (1-5, 1-1 SSC) led by as many as seven points in the opening two minutes, but the Tars (4-1, 1-0) defended their home court and won their Sunshine State Conference opener.
Volovic was one of four Mocs who finished with double-digit points, while Jack Rauch recorded his first career double-double in the setback. Volovic scored 21 of his game-high 32 points from beyond the arc, finishing 7-of-12 from long range.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Florida Southern started the contest on fire, connecting on its first four shot attempts to grab a 9-2 lead with 18:03 to go in the first half. However, Rollins responded with an 8-0 run to jump on top by one point (10-9) less than two minutes later. The teams would trade jabs over the next teo minutes as the Mocs were able to gain a four-point edge (20-16) when Josh Brown connected from long range with 14:23 on the clock.
• The Tars would piece together another run, scoring seven unanswered points to grab a 23-20 lead less then a minute later. Rollins would never surrender the lead from there, and eventually built a 16-point lead (44-28) wit just over seven minutes in the half. Florida Southern was able to mount a late first-half run to cut the deficit to four (43-49), but a last second layup by the Tars would send Rollins to the locker room with a 55-49 lead.
• The Mocs again found themselves down by double digits (61-51) less than three minutes into the second half, but back-to-back threes by Volovic made it 61-57 with 16:45 on the clock. It was the closest the Florida Southern would get the rest of the way as Rollins answered with a three on its next possession to make it 64-57, and never led by less than six points for the remainder of the game.
• Florida Southern shot 50.0 percent (31-of-62) from the floor, including 13-of-29 from beyond the arc, but Rollins shot a blistering 54.2 percent (32-of-59) and finished with 11 more free-throw attempts then the Mocs (31-20).
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Florida Southern fell to 119-55 all-time against Rollins, including a 46-34 record when facing the Tars on the road. Rollins increased its winning streak to three-straight against the Mocs. FSC also fell to 4-46 all-time when allowing 100 or more points.
• Michael Volovic scored a career-high 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting. He went 7-of-12 from three-point range, falling just four made threes shy of tying the school record for three-pointers in a single game. Volovic has scored in double figures in four-straight games, and is 13-of-20 (65.0 percent) from beyond the arc in two SSC contests. He also dished out seven assists against Rollins
• Jack Rauch recorded the first double-double of his career with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Rauch went a perfect 6-of-6 at the free-throw line and also added two assists on the night. Brett Hanson (16) and Tyler Ross (10) also scored in double figures. Hanson has scored in double digits four times in his first six collegiate games.
• The Mocs finished with a 34-28 edge in rebounds, and outscored the Tars 17-13 in second-chance points. The Tars finished with a 34-24 advantage in points in the paint, and scored 33 points off turnovers. Rollins outscored Florida Southern 47-42 in the second half, and went to the free-throw line 10 more times than the Mocs over the final 20 minutes (15-5).
UP NEXT
• Florida Southern returns home on Saturday when it battles USC Aiken at 3:30 p.m. before playing host to Molloy on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Jenkins Field House.
• The Mocs return to Sunshine State Conference play on Dec. 3 at Palm Beach Atlantic, and will face Barry at home at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 10.
