In another thriller from Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Tyler Kelly drained a three-pointer with 7.1 seconds remaining to put the Mocs ahead 67-66 in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament Championship Game.
Seth Evans came up huge for the Mocs, with 26 points including six threes on his way to tournament MVP honors. He also went 5-6 from the foul line in the final seconds of the game after Rollins was called for a foul and then two technical fouls, sending Evans to the line for six freebies. His free throws ended the scoring as the Mocs won by a final score of 72-66.
For the second day in a row, the Mocs used a second-half comeback to win in dramatic fashion. Rollins led 51-42 with 10:36 remaining before Cameron Vines drilled three-consecutive treys to follow a three by Evans to pull the Mocs within 62-59 with six minutes to play.
Bailey then gave the Mocs a 63-62 lead as he scored two of his 16 points on a nice post move with 4:00 to play. From there, the teams went back and forth, just as the Mocs and Eckerd had the night before.
With the Tars leading 66-64 with only 57.5 seconds remaining, they took over possession after two missed free throws by Vines. However, the Mocs were able to come up with a huge defensive stop to regain possession with 18.9 seconds to go, setting up Kelly’s game-winning three.
The SSC Tournament Championship, the second straight for the Mocs, earned them the top seed in the South Region of the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Mocs will be back in action Saturday as they take on No. 8 seed North Alabama at 6:00 p.m. in Jenkins Field House.
Check out the photo gallery from the SSC Tournament Championship Game:
