MELBOURNE, Fla. – Four players scored in double figures for the Warhawks with junior guard Darrion Taylor leading the way with 19 points but the Auburn Montgomery men's basketball squad could not get past Rollins College on Saturday afternoon, falling 86-76 to the Tars at the 2018 NCAA South Region Tipoff hosted by Florida Tech.
 
NOTES
• AUM falls to 1-1 on the season while Rollins improves to 2-0.
• This was the first meeting between the two programs.
• RC never trailed in the contest.
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• The 19 points are a season high for Taylor. His career high is 24, scored against Mississippi College on Dec. 18, 2017. He also recorded a season best six assists.
• Junior guard Carlos Bell finished the contest with 15 points and six rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Stanley Davis tallied 12 points on four 3-pointers, three assists and three rebounds coming off the bench for AUM.  
• Junior forward Aaron Reddick scored 11 and pulled down five boards.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Tars jumped out to a 9-0 lead before Davis got AUM on the board with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to six at the 16:14 mark. Rollins would respond with a 7-0 run to go up 16-3 before Tre Hansbrough was able to sink another trey for the Orange & Black with 14:02 to go in the first.
• RC would push its lead to as much as 20 with 11:09 until the break, when AUM started clawing its way back into the contest. AUM would go on a 28-12 run capped off by an old-fashioned 3-point play by Bell to pull the Warhawks within four points at 40-36 with 1:40 to go. The Tars would respond with a 4-0 run to close out the half with a 44-26 lead.
• In the second half the Tars would slowly inch away from the Orange & Black, going up by 15 at 64-49 at the 12:57 mark before the Warhawks once again attempted the comeback. AUM rallied and pulled to within 67-64 on a Reddick layup that made it a 3-point game with 5:51 to play.
• However, AUM could not complete the comeback as the Tars outscored the Warhawks 19-12 over the final five minutes to earn the 86-76 victory.
 
QUOTING THE COACH
"Rollins is not going to beat themselves and that's one of the reasons we came down here, to play well-coached teams and top notched programs," said AUM head coach Michael Cheaney. "Anytime you play against a team like that you can't have 23 turnovers. It was good for us, though, it was a chance to learn and watch a quality opponent. However, we've got to get a little better at dealing with adversity and to still be able to execute and play AUM basketball."
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
• RC won the turnover battle, forcing 23 while committing 15 themselves.
• AUM outscored RC in bench points 38-15.
• The Tars outscored the Warhawks 44-28 in points in the paint.
• The Warhawks were outscored 44-36 in the first half, 42-40 in the second.
• AUM won the rebounding battle, 30-29.
 
UP NEXT
The Warhawks will travel back to the Sunshine State next weekend, taking part in the 2018 Saint Leo Classic. AUM will play the host Saint Leo on Friday at 6:30 p.m. before facing the University of Tampa on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
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