Box Score BOX SCORE
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The Nova Southeastern University men’s basketball team (2-1) took its first loss of the season Saturday, falling to the Charleston Golden Eagles (2-0), 81-68, at the NSU Arena in the Don Taft University Center.
“Charleston was certainly as good as advertised, but we expected that going into this tournament,” said head coach
Gary Tuell. “I’m just happy we had a chance to play them in this tournament so our guys could get a taste of what it’s like to face a top-25 team. With the schedule we have over the next five weeks, this game was good for us regardless of the outcome.”
The Sharks ran into a buzzsaw of an offense in the Golden Eagles, who shot 54 percent from 3-point range (13-for-24). Their percentage from downtown dropped significantly midway through the second half, when they were shooting over 70 percent. NSU were only down by three points at halftime, but gave up a major run in the second half that put them down by as much as 26 points.
Brian Cahill (So., Arlington, Va.) came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points on 3-for-6 shooting.
Garrett Frick (So., Pacific Palisades, Calif.) earned a team-best seven rebounds, while
Stian Berg (So., Baerum, Norway) led NSU in assists with three.
The Golden Eagles made it clear early how strong of a shooting team they are, nailing their first five shots, four of which were 3’s, to jump out to a 14-5 lead. The Sharks would trail by as much as 17 points in the first half, but came storming back. Down 33-16, the Sharks went on an 18-0 run to take a one-point lead with 1:34 left in the period. Charleston ended the run with four points before the break to go up, 37-34, at halftime.
In the first half,
Justin Jeangerard (So. Weaverville, Calif.) led the squad with 11 points and four rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the floor. NSU shot 12-for-24 in the opening period, but 10 turnovers kept them from leading in the first half.
Charleston put the game away early in the second half, by scoring 29 points eight minutes into the final period. During that span, the Golden Eagles shot 11-for-16 from the floor and a perfect 7-for-7 from beyond the arc. NSU eventually cut the deficit down to 13, but trailed, 81-55, with four minutes left in the game.
Although the Sharks could not hold their opponents to under 50 percent shooting, they continued to reach the foul line at a high rate. NSU has reached had over 20 free throw attempts in each of the first three games.
“Our guys are a long way from being where we hope to be in February, but we’re making progress,” stated Tuell. “Our offense is more confusion than precision and our defense, at times, is non-existent. That was the case Friday night in our 87-85 win over Goldey-Beacom. We were bad in every phase of the defensive game, but somehow we managed to score enough points to get the win. As far away from being a good team as we are right now, we’re much better now than we were a month ago. Hopefully, in another month, people will look at us and say ‘They’re starting to get it.’ And two months from now, if we keep improving, people might be able to look at us and say ‘Hey, that’s a pretty good team.’
Jeangerard finished the game with 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting.
Sean Mullan (Sr., Mangerton, Australia) started for the first time this season and scored 10 points.
Lukas Roesch (Sr., Sugar Grove, Ohio) scored nine points off the bench on 4-for-7 shooting.
Iran Hollis (Sr., Hollywood, Fla.) pulled in five rebounds and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
“We have to improve in the basics and build from there,” stated Tuell. “I also told the guys that winning and losing at this time of the year is not what this is about. It’s about making progress and learning from mistakes. I believe in our guys. I get upset if the effort isn’t there, but for the most part they’ve played hard. Not always smart, but hard. Against Goldey-Beacom, we didn’t play smart or hard and yet our kids had enough character and will to pull out the victory. As upset as I was after our win on Friday, I also told them that I thought they were good enough to win against any opponent on our schedule if they gave the effort the coaches are looking for. I trust these guys and I think they will figure it out eventually. It’s a long season. The learning experiences in November and December are invaluable when it comes to being a quality ball club in January and February.”
The Sharks will take a break before hitting the road to begin Sunshine State Conference play against Saint Leo on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m.
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