640 SPORTS | LIVE STATS

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (7-6, 2-2 SSC) looks to win three straight as they travel to Tampa, Fla. to face the Tampa Spartans (4-10, 0-5 SSC) Saturday at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcasted live on 640 Sports.

The Sharks enter the game after defeating Florida Southern at home, 90-79, and stomping on Palm Beach Atlantic, 78-50. This is the NSU’s first winning streak of the season as the team never won or lost more than one straight game during their first 12 games. The Sharks have been on fire offensively over these two games, shooting a combined 58-for-102 (57 percent) from the floor and 18-for-34 (53 percent) from three-point range.

“I like the way we approached the last two games, with better unity, energy and a stronger commitment to the defensive end of the floor,” said head coach Gary Tuell. “Everybody is contributing. We're shooting it well and our defensive effort has been much better since that debacle with Florida Tech. I like my team. I just hope they continue to mature and stay together in their desire to achieve something together.”

The Sharks will now face a team that has struggled at the start of Sunshine State Conference play. Tampa will enter Saturday’s game with a 0-5 conference record.

"Tampa has had a tough time getting on track this year, especially early when they were playing without Townsend,” said Tuell. “The results may not show it, but they are playing much better of late, and they do have a big win over then 25th-ranked Winston Salem State.

"Ashton Graham and Callum Townsend are two of the best players in our league and Stephon Barfield could start for a lot of teams in our league. And let's not forget that Richard Schmidt is, in my opinion, a Hall of Fame coach who knows how to fix a team as well as anyone. My relationship with Richard goes back almost 40 years. My respect for him is enormous.”

Historically, Schmidt has kept his team close to the top of the standings over the course of his 29 years at Tampa. Against the Sharks, Schmidt’s program is 15-8 all time. Last season, the Sharks played Tampa to overtime twice but could not pick up a win. The Sharks last defeated Tampa on Feb. 3, 2010 at home. The Sharks have not won a game in Tampa since Jan. 3, 2009.

The game has large implications for the Sharks as no SSC team has broken away from the pack. In fact, if NSU wins and all other home teams in the conference win, the Sharks would be locked into a five-way tie for first place. Regardless of the implications, Tuell is keeping his eyes on the short term goals and working on improving his team for the late season stretch.

"We don't have any individual stars and we don't know from game to game who will start or who will play well,” said Tuell. “We're just trying to get a little better as a team, game by game, possession by possession."

Fans can listen to the game live on 640 Sports or at their website HERE. Live stats will also be available HERE. Follow the Sharks on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/NSU_MBasketball.

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