Box Score

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (10-4, 3-2 SSC) broke a seven-game winning streak Saturday when they lost on the road to the Eckerd Tritons (12-4, 3-2 SSC), 84-71.

Alex Gynes (Sr., Nowra, Australia) led all scorers in St. Petersburg, Fla. with 25 points. Gynes shot 10-for-22 from the floor and posted a team-high five rebounds.

The first half was one of the most exciting periods of the season as neither team could form a major lead. The Sharks came out shooting well and looked to be the sharper squad. The Tritons stayed in the game by making four of their first five three-pointers. They would eventually take the biggest lead of the half at six points with six minutes left in the half, but the Sharks erased the lead by going on a 10-4 run. 

John Brooks (Sr., Perris, Calif.) made the difference at the end of the first period when he drained a fade-away midrange jumper at the halftime buzzer to enter the break up 38-36. Brooks shot 2-for-3 from the floor in the period, good for five points. The Sharks shot 52 percent (13-for-25) in the first half and 4-for-9 from beyond the arc. Gynes almost equaled his per game average in the first half with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

The Tritons established their lead at the start of the second half and never trailed again. They went on an 11-0 run to start the period as the Sharks could not make a field goal over the first four minutes of the half. Brooks scored 14 second half points to keep his team in the game but the Tritons never broke. Eckerd led by as much as 18 in the final six minutes of the game and cruised to a 13 point victory. Brooks shot 5-for-9 in the second half and finished the game with 19 points.

The Sharks, who average 25 free throw attempts a game, took only 18 free throws against Eckerd and made 67 percent of them. They are now 0-4 when shooting under 70 percent from the charity stripe this season.

Lemar Dyer (Sr., Miami, Fla.) led the Sharks with four assists along with four points and three rebounds. Dyer improved his consecutive free throws made streak to 26. Max Papendieck (Sr., Adelaide, Australia) and Robert Huntington (Jr., Perth, Australia) each scored six points and combined for seven rebounds.

The Sharks will look to rebound this Wednesday, Jan. 19 in Boca Raton, Fla. against Lynn at 7:30 p.m.