BOX SCORE
WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (9-8, 4-4 SSC) reached the halfway point of the Sunshine State Conference season in a 65-56 loss to the Rollins Tars (13-5, 6-2 SSC) Wednesday in Winter Park, Fla.
Robert Huntington (Sr., Perth, Australia) and
Iran Hollis (Jr., Hollywood, Fla.) each posted a team-high 12 points in the loss.
Shaun Pratl (Jr., Chicago Ridge, Ill.) was one basket away from a double-double with eight points and a team-best 10 rebounds, the most he’s had while playing for NSU.
The first half was a seesaw battled with 10 lead changes. The Sharks led by two points over the preseason SSC favorite several times but could not make a run. The Sharks played solid defense, holding the Tars to under 30 percent shooting over the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Tars built a cushion late in the half with a barrage of 3-points and led by seven points at the break. Despite only shooting 32 percent in the first half, the Sharks displayed their depth. Before the first 10 minutes were complete, seven different Sharks had scored in the contest. With only six points, Huntington was the Sharks’ leading scorer at the midway mark.
The second half started very slow as Rollins was limited to only three points over the first seven minutes. The Sharks could only cut the deficit to four at 35-31 before the Tars built their double-digit lead.
The Sharks had the wind knocked out of them when Rollins’ Dave Diakite, who led the game with 19 points and 11 rebounds, made a turn-around 24-footer to beat the shot clock. The Sharks immediately turned the ball over, which allowed Diakete to convert on a half-court alley-oop pass. The sequence was the start of an 11-1 run that put NSU’s deficit at 15 points.
The Sharks would bring the deficit down to seven points on two occasions but could not shoot their way back into the contest. NSU had its worst shooting night of the season, shooting 31 percent (20-for-65) overall and 17 (4-for-23) percent from downtown. The Sharks also shot 60 percent (12-for-20) from the free throw line, their second worst mark of the season.
Louie Schonauer (Jr., Lincloln, Ill.) chipped in eight points on 2-for-5 shooting. All of his attempts were from 3-point range.
The Sharks will return to South Florida but stay on the road as they face Barry Saturday, Jan. 28 in Miami Shores, Fla. at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcasted live on 640 Sports.
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