FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Dec. 3, 2009) - The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team defeated Christian Brothers 80-75 in a key South Region victory inside the Don Taft University Center on Thursday evening. The win improves the Sharks record to 2-3 on the year while Christian Brothers falls to 4-3.
"Anytime you play a team that has won the region the past two years and made appearances in the Elite Eight and Final Four, you've gotta feel good about a victory like this. We got beat 81-48 by them two years ago. We've been waiting a long time for this."
The Sharks stormed out of the gates, opening with a 14-3 run to gain control of the game. NSU was able to maintain its intensity the entire first half, limiting CBU to just 25.9 percent from the field and led 36-20 at the break.
Tuell said, "Our kids played great, especially in the first half. Our press wore them down and our half court defense was good."
Juniors Alex Gynes (Nowra, Australia) and Ross Allsop (Sydney, Australia) led the Sharks in the first half. Gynes had a team high 11 point on 5-5 shooting while Allsop scored seven points and had seven rebounds. Zach Warner had 13 of the Buccaneers 20 points at the half.
The Sharks withstood a barrage of three-pointers from Christian Brothers in the second half and came away with the 80-75 win. The Buccaneers went 11-20 from beyond the arc en route to 55 second half points.
"We obviously had problems defending the three-point shot, but they had problems defending us inside and outside," said Tuell. "Our offense was efficient and we cut our turnovers in half. We just kept scoring."
Gynes led the Sharks with a career high 23 points. He also had five rebounds and an assist. Allsop followed with a career high 17 points and a career high 11 rebounds. It marked the first double-double of his career.
"Ross and Alex both played tremendous," Tuell continued. "Each of them got the big rebound at the end of the game when we needed them. Our junior class has showed tremendous leadership. They are being excellent leaders and they want to win."
Freshman guard Cody Dennison (Newark, Ohio) and sophomore guard Teddy Tassy (Boca Raton, Fla.) were also in double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
"Teddy's (Tassy) step back three-pointer was a huge shot for us. This team has been playing hard against a very tough schedule. Our young players are getting better in a hurry and a lot of it is because of the competition that they have faced."
Warner finished with a game high 28 points for Christian Brothers.
The Sharks remain at home to host Northwood (Fla.) at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 13th inside the Don Taft University Center.
