HUNTSVILLE, Ala. –  No. 7 seed Rollins College made 17 three-pointers, including 12 in the first half to defeat the No. 3 seed Delta State University men's basketball team 88-61 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, on Sunday at Spragins Hall.
 
Inside the Matchup:
    Score: Rollins 88 | Delta State 61
    Records: Statesmen (23-9) | Bucs (23-10)
    Series: Rollins leads the series 2-0
    Location: Spragins Hall | Huntsville, Ala.
 
How It Happened:

• The game started with a 2:0 scoring drought before Rollins went on a quick 8-2 run over the next 1:38.
• Devin Schmidt answered with a three-pointer to spark a 5-0 run, but the Tars offense dominated extending the lead by eight points (17-9) with back-to-back threes with 12:35 remaining.
• The Statesmen cut the Rollins lead to 17-14, but the Tars answered knocking down three straight triples, extending the lead to double digits, 26-15 with 8:57 left in the half.
• Later in the half, John Cornish knocked down back-to-back threes, but Rollins answered hitting three triples, a layup and a jumper to extend the lead to 42-25 with 2:46 left in the half.
• The Tars kept the momentum, heading into the halftime with a 46-32 advantage.
• Delta State shot 13-of-31 (41.9 percent) from the floor in the first half, including 5-for-15 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc. The Statesmen were just 1-for-5 from the charity stripe. Schmidt led the way with 13 points and four rebounds, while Cedric Harper and John Cornish tallied six points each.
• Rollins went 15-of-30 (50 percent) from the field, including 12-for-18 (66.7 percent) from distance. The Tars went 4-of-6 from the free throw line. Jeff Merton led the way with 16 points for Rollins. Sam Philpott chipped in 10 points while Eric Castaneda tallied 11 points and five boards.
• The Tars opened the second half with a Mike Bedulskis three but there was some life for the Statesmen as Cornish scored a layup and three-pointer making the score 49-37 with 15:21 to go.
• Both sides traded multiple free throws as the Tars maintained a double-digit lead into the final 10 minutes.
• The Statesmen managed to close the Tars margin to 16 after a Ravion Henry three, but Rollins grew its lead to as many as 30 before Henry nailed a three as time expired.
• With the victory, the Tars move on to the NCAA South Region Championship game on Tuesday, March 14 to face the winner of host Alabama Huntsville and Barry.
• Delta State shot 22-for-56 for the game (39.3 percent), including going 10-of-32 (31.3 percent) from three-point range. DSU finished  7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from the free throw line.
• Rollins was 28-of-59 (47.5 percent) from the field and 17-of-30 (56.7 percent) from three-point range, while going 15-of-21 at the free throw line. 
• Cornish led the Statesmen with 17 points and two rebounds for Delta State, while Schmidt added 13 points and seven rebounds. Henry added 12 points and one rebound for the Statesmen.
• Rollins was led by Jeff Merton and Sam Philpott, who had 22 points each and a combined seven rebounds. Eric Castaneda chipped in 14 points and 10 boards for the Tars.

Notables:            

• Rollins held a big 48-16 advantage in bench scoring
• The Tars out rebounded the Statesmen 38-32.
• Schmidt finished his career as the Gulf South Conference all-time leading scorer with 2,594 points, while adding 713 rebounds and 512 assists.
• Kilpatrick finished his career with 468 points, 388 rebounds and 171 assists.
• Brett Warner had a career-high eight rebounds for the Statesmen.
• That Statesmen finished the season at 23-9, the first 20-win season since 2013-14.
• Delta State is 3-10 all-time in the second round of the South Region Tournament.