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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (9-4, 2-1 SSC) will attempt to tie a school record seven straight wins this Wednesday, Jan. 12 at the NSU Arena at the Don Taft University Center when they take on the Barry Buccaneers (4-8, 1-3 SSC) at 7:30 p.m.

The Sharks are coming off their second Sunshine State Conference victory against Saint Leo this past Saturday. In the contest, the Sharks limited the Lions to 23 percent shooting from three-point range and held them to a season-best 61 points. John Brooks (Sr., Perris, Calif.) and Teddy Tassy (Jr., Boca Raton, Fla.) shot lights out, combining for 29 points on 8-for-13 shooting from downtown.

“It’s probably the first time we played a full 40-minute game without falling asleep at one or both ends of the floor,” said head coach Gary Tuell. “Teddy Tassy gave us a huge lift in the first half, John Brooks made some key buckets for us down the stretch, and both Cody Dennison (So., Newark, Ohio) and Lemar Dyer (Sr., Miami, Fla.) were solid at both ends of the court. Of course, Alex Gynes (Sr., Nowra, Australia) and Robert Huntington (Jr., Perth, Australia) remained consistently good for us, and I was pleased with Ross Allsop’s (Sr., Sydney, Australia) defense in the second half. Heck, just about everyone who played did something to contribute for us and that’s been our strength during the current win streak.”

The current winning streak of six games has come in impressive fashion. Over the past six games, the Sharks have defeated teams by an average of over 11 points per game. They have shot 49 percent from the floor, 45 percent from beyond the arc and 80 percent from the foul line.

The winning streak has not come against weak competition. It started out on the road against Flagler, a team that has two wins over top-five teams this season. They defeated King (79-71), a squad that stood toe-to-toe with then No. 1 Bellarmine (75-64) and lost to West Florida by only a point in overtime (79-78). NSU has also defeated both Florida Tech (79-68) and Saint Leo (77-61) by double-digit points.

Gynes has led the charge over the last six wins by averaging 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game. He has reached the foul line almost nine times a game and has knocked down his free throws at an 82 percent clip. Six other players have taken at least 10 field goal attempts over the last six games and have shot over 50 percent from the field. To cap it off, Brooks has shot 21-for-36 from beyond the arc.

In order to win seven straight games, a mark that has only been hit twice at NSU, the Sharks will have to defeat a Barry team that has only won four out of 12 games. They were at the bottom of the barrel in the conference standings with a 0-3 record until they blew out perennial national contender Florida Southern, 77-55.

“Some people were ready to deliver last rites to Barry, but their huge win over Florida Southern on Saturday sent a message to everyone that the Bucs are alive, well and full of fight,” said Tuell. “Which comes as no surprise to the coaches in the Sunshine State Conference because we all have enormous respect for Coach Cesar Odio and his teams. They got off to a rocky start, which should have been expected because their schedule was difficult and they were replacing two of the league’s best players with some young, untested guards. But it was just a matter of time before Coach Odio got them doing things the way he wants them done. Barry will be as tough a test as anyone we face, not only because of their trademark defense but also because they have some very good players in that program who started for a team that went to the NCAA tournament last year.”

The Buccaneers’ record does not reflect how talented the team is. Barry has had a tough schedule that includes games against Division I FIU and undefeated No. 25 Tampa. After Wednesday, Barry will have played all top five teams in the SSC standings and none of the bottom four. They also have history on their side as they’ve defeated NSU 29 times in 43 games.

“Zack Trapp and Evan White are excellent shooters who helped them win a lot of games last year,” Tuell said. “Willie Whitfield and Marvin Davis are outstanding low post players who were keys to last year’s team. In Whitfield, they have the guy who leads our league in rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots. He’s just a terrific player. With that core group they’ve added two outstanding guards in Vladimir Raymonvil and Derrick Bolanos who are outstanding shooters and excellent defenders.

“They will put a lot of pressure on our defense both inside and outside. But that’s good. We learn more about our defense every time we play because people show us different things and present different problems for us. So far the obtuse polygon defense with equilateral hyperbolic trapezoid sliding man-to-man principles has been kind to us. Our guys can’t spell it, but they are learning how to play it.”

Fans can look forward to one of the most compelling matchups so far this season in Gynes vs. Whitfield. Both forwards stand at 6-6 and have been the most productive players on their team. Both players lead their teams in points per game and take roughly nine field goal attempts per game. Whitfield shoots at a SSC-leading 65 percent clip while Gynes scores more points by reaching the foul line two more time a game than the senior Buccaneer.

Whitfield is the reigning SSC Player of the Week after averaging 17 points and 12.5 rebounds a game while shooting 71 percent from the floor. Gynes will be looking to take down the reigning player of the week for the second straight time. Last week the Sharks faced All-SSC talent in Florida Tech’s Justin Sedlak and Saint Leo’s Matt Kendrick but Gynes outperformed them both.

“Alex obviously carries us at times, but we’re not solely dependent on him,” said Tuell. “I do laugh when I see all these guys earning Player of the Week in the SSC and Al has never won that award. Only a few players in this league impact a game the way Al does. But we’re not a one-man show and that’s why we’ve been able to win.

“We never know from night to night who will step up and give us a lift when we need it. We don’t even make a decision on starters until we warm up before the game. But that’s the strength of our team. We have 11 guys who pull for each other and all 11 guys are capable of doing something to help us when we need it the most.”

Fans can follow the Sharks take on Barry Wednesday evening via live video HERE and live stats HERE. Also follow NSU Basketball through Twitter at www.twitter.com/NSUSharks.