FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Jan. 9, 2010) - The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team bounced back with a 77-64 victory over Sunshine State Conference rival Eckerd College in action on Saturday afternoon inside the Don Taft University Center. The win, NSU's seventh straight home win, improves their record to 8-5 overall and 2-2 in SSC play. Eckerd falls to 6-6 and 0-3.
"You've got to give our kids credit," said NSU head coach Gary Tuell. "We were completely overmatched physically. There were times I thought our little guys were going to get abused or hurt. We were trying really hard to block them out on the glass but they went through us and over us. We didn't have the strength or bodies to compete. But we were outstanding on defense and our offensive execution was just as good."
The Sharks shot a season high 54.8 percent from the field and limited Eckerd to just 37.5 percent. NSU was also 55.6 percent on three-pointers and 68.4 percent from the free throw line. The offensive execution helped the Sharks overcome the Tritons rebounding edge, which they led 41-26, including 21-7 on the offensive end.
Junior forward Alex Gynes (Jr. Nowra, Australia) paced the Sharks with 23 points on 6-9 shooting. He also added six points and four assists while hitting on 10-14 free throw attempts. Junior guard John Brooks (Riverside, Calif.) had 15 points on 5-6 shooting from the floor. He made 3-4 three point attempts. Junior center Ross Allsop (Sydney, Australia) scored 13 points on 5-8 shooting. He also had nine rebounds and two blocks. Junior guard Lemar Dyer (Miami, Fla.) was also in double figures with 10 points while tallying 3 rebounds and three assists. Freshman guard Brian Cahill (Arlington, Va.) scored four points and added three rebound and three assists in 20 minutes of the bench.
"Al and Ross were warriors today," said Tuell. "John Brooks and Lemar Dyer also did a good job and made some big plays for us. Brian Cahill became more effective as the game went on."
Woody Taylor led Eckerd with 11 points.
Tuell concluded, "I'm so proud of our players to come off two disappointing losses and to play so hard and well today. I hope that's a real statement about the character of the kids on this team. I think that was one of the reasons we were able to win today."
Nova Southeastern travels to Winter Park, Fla. to play SSC foe Rollins College on Wednesday, January 13th at 7:30 p.m.
