FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Dec. 20, 2009) - The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team forced 30 turnovers en route to a 68-58 victory over Goucher College in the final game of the Cruzin Classic in the Don Taft University Center on Sunday afternoon. The win, NSU's fourth consecutive, improves their record to 5-3 on the season while Goucher falls to 1-7.
The Sharks used a suffocating press to force 19 first half turnovers, resulting in 15 NSU's 31 points. Goucher had just two more shots (21) than turnovers as NSU led 31-23 at the half.
A second half run by Goucher knotted the score at 49 apiece with 7:17 remaining to play. The Sharks responded with a 9-3 run, capped by a rebound and put-back by freshman Ryan Grubbs (Cooper City, Fla.), to re-gain the edge at 58-52.
The Gophers closed to within two points (60-58) with 1:09 left on the clock but the Sharks scored the final eight points of the game to win 68-58. NSU was out-shot 46.5 percent to 36.8 percent but had a 38-29 edge on the glass and committed 11 less turnovers.
"We're tired, beat up and missing some important players," said NSU head coach Gary Tuell. "The last two games have been a reflection of that. However, I was pleased with the players who were called upon to play. Ryan (Grubbs) did a good job on the boards while Tomas (Portuondo) provided a spark in the first half and played good defense. It was good to see a positive contribution from these players."
Grubbs finished with four points and seven rebounds in 16 minutes of action. Portuondo scored seven points with three rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes of play.
Junior forward Alex Gynes (Nowra, Australia) led the Sharks with 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Junior guard John Brooks (Riverside, Calif.) also had 14 points and had two assists. Freshman point guard Cody Dennison (Newark, Ohio) was also in double-figures with 11 points and had three assists.
"It's hard to win when your top guys don't play well," said Tuell. "Even though we were dead legged and shot horrifically, we somehow managed to find a way to win. We've had to gut it out and win some tough games, but we've won four games in a row and are 5-3 heading into the break."
The Sharks return home to host Concordia (N.Y.) at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, December 29th inside the Don Taft University Center.
