ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Feb. 6, 2010) - Nova Southeastern University men's basketball fell to Eckerd 93-78 at the McArthur Center on Saturday evening. With the loss, the Sharks drop to 12-9 overall and 5-6 in the Sunshine State Conference. Eckerd moves to 13-7 overall and 6-4 in the conference.

"We got beat by an outstanding Eckerd team that I think is playing better than any team in the league right now," said head coach Gary Tuell. "They're the most talented team in this league. If they continue to play like that, they'll have a great chance at winning the SSC Tournament."

In the first half, NSU dealt with hot shooting on the part of the Tritons, who were 70.4 percent from the field and made 19-of-27 shots. Eckerd's largest lead of the half came as Wayne Sears made a layup and sank a free throw at 1:28 that made it a 28-point, 58-30 game. The Sharks got a pair of foul shots from Max Papendieck (Jr., Adelaide, Australia) and a layup from Teddy Tassy (So., Boca Raton, Fla.) to close out the first 20 minutes as it was 58-34 heading into the break.

Despite pulling to within 17 early in the second half behind a pair of John Brooks (Jr., Riverside, Calif.) free throws, the Sharks saw Eckerd eventually take another 28-point lead. The Tritons went up 77-49 as Darrien Mack hit both of his free throws at 10:42.

NSU chipped away at the deficit, using an 11-1 run to make it 80-64 in favor of Eckerd. The run began with Tassy swishing through a three-pointer at 9:56, while Luke Roesch (Fr., Lancaster, Ohio) made a layup and a free throw at 7:04 to cap of the run. The Sharks ultimately only trailed by 15 as Tassy hit another three at 4:47 that cut the Tritons down to an 82-67 lead.

NSU outscored the Tritons 10-2 in the final 2:12 of the game. The Sharks' final 10 points included threes from both Brooks and Tassy, a layup from Roesch and a pair of Tassy foul shots.

The Sharks were 47.1 percent from the field, connecting on 24-of-51 shots. Eckerd went 30-for-55 en route to shooting 54.5 percent.

Tassy had a team-high 15 points, while Roesch and Alex Gynes (Jr., Nowra, Australia) had 12 and 11, respectively. Roesch and Rob Huntington (So., Perth, Australia) each grabbed a game-high six rebounds.

John Harper scored a game-high 24 points, 18 of which were from long-range. Lewis Lampley tallied a team-high five rebounds.

NSU begins a three-game homestand on Wednesday when the Sharks host Lynn during Homecoming. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The game will also be broadcast live on 88.5 FM, Nova Southeastern University's Radio X.