MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Benedict College men's basketball team opened the 2018-19 season with a 72-60 loss against Rollins College in the NCAA South Region Tipoff Challenge on Friday afternoon.

The Tigers rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to cut the lead to 47-44 halfway through the second half, but could not get any closer.

Benedict (0-1) was led by Kelvin Omojola, who had 18 points and hit four 3-pointers. Romello Jones had 16 points and a team-high six rebounds. Aaron Bryant added 13 points.

The Tigers had a 9-5 lead early in the first half, but Rollins pulled away and took a 35-25 lead at the half.

The Tars opened up a 44-31 lead early in the second half before the Tigers went on a 13-3 run, getting a pair of 3-pointers by Omojola and a layup by Jones during that span. Later in the half, Rollins scored seven unanswered points to push the lead to 58-47 and built as much as a 15-point lead.

Benedict returns to action in the NCAA South Region Tipoff Challenge with a contest against tournament host Florida Tech on Saturday at 6 p.m.