BOX SCORE

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (2-2) jumped out to a quick lead the Sharks would never give up as they put away the Ave Maria Gyrenes (2-3), 79-71, Saturday at the NSU Arena in the Don Taft University Center.

Robert Huntington (Sr., Perth, Australia), Iran Hollis (Jr., Hollywood, Fla.) and Justin Jeangerard (Fr., Weaverville, Calif.) put forth their most efficient scoring performances of the season as they combined to shoot 17-for-20 from the floor. Huntington led the team with 16 points while Hollis and Jeangerard scored 13 and 14, respectively. Tim Traversa  (Jr., Chicago, Ill.) filled up the box score with team-highs in rebounds (8), assists (5) and steals (3) to go along with seven points.

The Sharks looked like the overwhelming favorite to win early as the team jumped out to a 30-10 lead. It would be the largest lead of the game as 12 first half turnovers kept them from building on top of their 20-point lead. NSU would enter the locker room up, 42-30.

Sean Mullan (Jr., Mangerton, Australia) looked like he was in for a huge night by halftime as he scored 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting. Huntington, Hollis and Jeangerard combined to shoot a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor in the first half.

The Gyrenes heated up in the second half as the Sharks spent the final 20 minutes fending off the opposition. The Sharks’ lead would shrink down to as much as four points but it never disappeared. NSU continued to pound the ball inside and shoot at a high percentage. Eventually, Ave Maria ran out of time as the Sharks sealed their second victory of the season.

Overall, the home team shot 67 percent (28-for-44) in the game and 43 percent (6-for-14) from behind the arc. Reigning Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week Teddy Tassy (Sr., Port-au-Prince, Haiti) shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line en route to a 13 point night. Unfortunately, the team’s hot shooting was negated by NSU’s season-high 26 turnovers.

The Sharks will take a break for Thanksgiving before hitting the road to play West Georgia on Tuesday, Nov. 29 in Carrolton, Ga. at 7:30 p.m.

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