Box Score
LAS VEGAS — Three minutes into the first half, neither the Rattlers nor the Rollins College Tars had scored.
The Tars got on the board first and the Rattlers trailed for most of the first half. It wasn't until the 12-minute mark, when
Marvin Whitt (Jr., Birmingham, Ala.) entered the game, that things really started to get going for the Rattlers.
Coming off the bench, Whitt provided a spark for the Rattlers with three steals and an impressive 3-for-4 beyond the arc in the first half to fuel a gutsy 55-54 victory in the Las Vegas Classic.
"I'm trying to do whatever I can to help the team," Whitt said. "This is my first year coming off the bench so I'm just getting used to it. I'm playing my role and trying to do whatever the coaches ask me to do."
The Rattlers went on a 16-8 run in the last seven minutes of the half and went to halftime leading 30-25.
After the break, the Rattlers continued to build the gap, leading by as much as 17 until the Tars began to fight back, scoring 25 points to the Rattlers' 10 in the last 12 minutes of the game.
"We got rushed on offense and gave up a lot of easy buckets," Whitt said of the Tars' second-half run. "But I'm glad that we were able to get this experience. There are a lot of new guys and we're just trying to show that we can be tough and dig down to get the win."
In the last few minutes of the game, the Tars held strong on defense, limiting the Rattlers to only two points in the final six minutes of the game.
With seconds left on the clock and a missed shot by the Rattlers, the score was 55-54 and the ball was in the Tars' possession.
After back-to-back timeouts and only nine seconds on the clock, the Rattlers battled on defense and kept the score at 55-54 for the victory.
Fred Wilson (Sr., Seattle) and
Justin Alexander (Jr., San Antonio) both contributed 12 points toward the Rattlers' victory, while Whitt chipped in 11 points, three steals and three assists.
Marvin Binney (Jr., Toronto) led the team in boards with seven followed by Alexander with six.
The Rattlers will play their first home game of the season Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. against Texas A&M-Kingsville at Bill Greehey Arena.
