Box Score BOX SCORE
SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (2-2, 0-1 SSC) dropped its Sunshine State Conference-opener against SSC favorites, the Saint Leo Lions (5-2, 1-0 SSC), on the road Tuesday, 72-55.
“I was really pleased with our effort defensive side of the ball, I thought we worked really hard,” said head coach
Gary Tuell. “We looked rusty, we haven’t played in 17 days and it showed. We obviously made mistakes but our overall effort was solid.”
NSU was led by
Lukas Roesch (Sr., Sugar Grove, Ohio), who came off the bench to score 13 points. He shot 5-for-6 from the floor, including a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range.
Iran Hollis (Sr., Hollywood, Fla.) had a season-best 11 rebounds and secured the double-double with 10 points.
Jacob Reed (Jr., Perth, Australia) led the Sharks in assists with four, a career-high.
The Sharks had a sloppy first half, committing double digit turnovers, but stayed in the game due to hot shooting from 3-point range. The Sharks were 5-for-11 from beyond the arc in the first half. The Sharks found themselves down by double digits at one point, but a late 9-0 run brought the road team to within a possession of the Lions. The Lions scored on two-straight possessions to end the half and lead at the break, 36-29.
The Sharks fell behind by double-digits again in the second half as the offense went stagnant. The Sharks converted only one field goal over the first nine minutes of the second half. The Lions would score 12 points during that span to advance their lead. Saint Leo would lead by as much as 23 points with eight minutes left.
NSU never threw in the towel and made a late run at the Lions’ lead. NSU went on a 13-3 run, cutting the deficit to 13. Saint Leo’s Marcus Ruh, who led the Lions with 27 points, hit a three from the wing to end the Sharks’ comeback attempt.
NSU shot a similar mark as the home team, but was burdened by a 22-9 turnover margin, allowing Saint Leo to take 10 more field goal attempts and seven more free throw shots.
Justin Jeangerard (So., Weaverville, Calif.) started and scored 12 points, half of which came on two 3-pointers that started the Sharks’ late run.
Maurice Fuller (So., Westfield, Ind.) had his best game as a Shark, scoring eight points and grabbing three boards.
“We are trying to run an offense where five guys handle the ball and five guys make decisions,” said Tuell. “This game felt like a season-opener against the best team in the league. We have to continue to work offensively to make these guys better.”
The Sharks will stay on the road to play back-to-back games in Louisville, Ky. to face No. 7 Southern Indiana Friday and No. 5 Bellarmine on Saturday. Both games will be broadcasted on 640 Sports.
For the latest NSU news and results, be sure to visit
www.NSUSharks.com. To have results sent directly to your cell phone via text message, sign up for SMS text message delivery by
clicking here. For the latest news, be sure to sign up for the Shark Alert E-newsletter by
clicking here.
