FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Dec. 30, 2009) - The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team defeated Saint Leo 85-74 in their Sunshine State Conference opener in action on Wednesday night inside the Don Taft University Center. The win, NSU's sixth in a row, improves their record to 7-3 on the season while Saint Leo falls to 5-8.

"I'm really happy for our kids that we won this game," said NSU head coach Gary Tuell. "We shot it well enough to bail ourselves out. We made a lot of mistakes on defense, rebounding and blocking out. I don't think we played nearly as well as last night, but we played hard, together and had fun. For us to be playing shorthanded and still be 7-3 it's hard to believe."

NSU took control of the game from the opening tip, getting out to an 11-2 lead just 2:48 into the game. The Sharks extended their lead to as many as 16 points on back-to-back-to-back three pointers on consecutive possessions before entering the locker room leading 45-34.

A fast break jumper by junior guard Max Papendieck (Adelaide, Australia) gave the Sharks their largest lead of the game at 17 points with 12:08 left to play. The Sharks hit 9-12 free throws in the second half to maintain their lead and win by the final 85-74 score.

Freshman guard Brian Cahill (Arlington, Va.), who set a career high a night ago with 16 points, set a new career high with 18 points on 6-7 shooting from the floor. He also had six assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block. Junior guard John Brooks (Riverside, Calif.) followed with 17 points and two assists.

"Cahill had another good night," said Tuell. "He could be the player of the week in our conference. John had another outstanding game, especially in the first half. He gave a good effort and made some key hustle plays. Our small lineup has been effective. I'm pleased with it. They're executing and causing matchup problems."

Freshman guard Cody Dennison (Newark, Ohio) was also in double figures with 10 points.

Senior forward Jordan Prais kept Saint Leo in the game with 35 points and 13 rebounds.

The Sharks travel to Tampa, Fla. to take on the Tampa Spartans at 4:00 pm on Saturday, January 2nd. The game can be heard live on the NSU Athletics Audiocast Network.