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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. –  The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (8-7, 3-3 SSC) will look to return to the win column this Saturday when the Sharks play host to the Saint Leo Lions (8-8, 2-4 SSC) at 4 p.m. at the NSU Arena in the Don Taft University Center. The game will be broadcasted live on 640 Sports.

The Sharks are coming off a home loss to Lynn, 82-67, at home Wednesday. The game was a seesaw battle until the final ten minutes, when Lynn was able to take advantage of NSU turnovers and create a double-digit lead.

“Basketball is a funny game,” said head coach Gary Tuell. “You can’t always measure success by winning and losing. We played one of our worst games of the year in terms of effort and execution last Saturday and still managed to walk away with a win at Tampa. On Wednesday we lost at home to Lynn, but in terms of effort and execution we played about as well as we’ve played all year.

“We had a three-minute stretch of bad offense where we were careless with the ball in the half court, which also led to some easy baskets for Lynn, and that was the difference in the game. Except for that patch, it was a wonderful college basketball game with two teams playing very hard, competing at a high level and doing a lot of things well at both ends of the court.”

The Sharks have shown plenty of positive signs in 2012. They have outrebounded 10 of their 15 opponents and have shot 50 percent or better from the floor in over half their games. However, turnovers have been a major factor all season. The Sharks average a Sunshine State Conference-worst 18.5 turnovers per game and have had more than 15 turnovers in all of their losses.

“Turnovers have been our undoing all season,” said Tuell. “Our opponents are scoring about 20 points a game off our turnovers. That’s unacceptable. Most of our turnovers are just carelessness. We have to find a way to put players in positions where they can have success and cut down the turnovers. We’re certainly not unhappy with our team or their effort or work ethic. As long as they continue to be committed and maintain their focus on improving day by day, then we’ll figure it out. We’re not emphasizing conference standings or championships or any of the trappings that might pressure us into knee jerk reactions. We’re just working every day to get better.”

NSU will be looking for its fourth straight victory over the Lions Saturday. Saint Leo, under the direction of new head coach Lance Randall, is coming off two one-possession losses to both Rollins and Eckerd and are in desperate need of a victory.

“For my money, Saint Leo is the most impressive team in our league,” stated Tuell. “They play the game the right way. They do the little things well. They’re disciplined, they’re physically and mentally tough and they play with intelligence. They remind me of a heavyweight boxer with a great chin, nobody knocks them out. They stay on their feet for the distance and they make you fight for everything. Like the Lynn game, this is not a game for the faint of heart. You have to go toe-to-toe with these guys for the full 40 minutes or they’ll hurt your feelings in a hurry.”

The Sharks currently stand in the middle of the pack with three other three-loss teams (Florida Southern, Lynn and Barry) in the SSC. They will need a win to separate themselves before playing four of the next five games on the road.

“We’ll need the same effort we gave against Lynn and we’ll need to value the basketball every possession,” said Tuell. “Saint Leo has a way of reducing possessions and keeping the score low. It’s important that we cut down on turnovers and that we make every shot count because there will be fewer opportunities than usual.”

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

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