Box Score BOX SCORE
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University men’s basketball (4-3) returned to the NSU Arena in the Don Taft University Center to defeat the Morningside Mustangs (6-9), 97-90, Tuesday in the Cruzin Classic.
The Sharks were led by a career-night from
Lukas Roesch (Sr., Sugar Grove, Ohio), who scored a career-high 32 points. Roesch was dangerously efficient, shooting 12-for-14 from the floor and collected seven rebounds.
Justin Jeangerard (So., Weaverville, Calif.) led the Sharks on the boards with eight. The Sharks leading playmakers were
Sean Mullan (Sr., Mangerton, Australia) and
Stian Berg (So., Baerum, Norway), who each finished with four assists. Mullan and Jeangerard scored 13 points each, while Berg scored 10.
The first half was a close battle in which the Sharks held off a hot shooting Morningside squad. The Mustangs shot 55 percent from the floor in the first half, but trailed by six points at the break, 44-38.
NSU continued to build their lead, and even led by as much as 15 points at 61-46 with 12 minutes remaining in the game. However, Morningside continued their accurate shooting and wiped away NSU’s lead with five minutes remaining.
Over the final five minutes, the Mustangs held onto the lead but never pulled away. The Sharks had their final possession of the second half with 40 seconds left on the clock, down by three points. Out of a timeout, the Sharks got the ball to Jeangerard, who tied the game from near NBA-range.
Morningside had the ball in the paint on the final possession, but
Brian Cahill (So., Arlington, Va.) came up defensively, as he did in the win over No. 7 Southern Indiana, with a clutch block and a steal to send the game to overtime.
The first overtime period was close, with neither team leading by more than a possession. The Sharks had momentum, but it was reversed by a 3-pointer from Morningside’s Tanner Miller with one minute left to tie the game at 86 all.
After an offensive foul call, Morningside had a chance to move into the lead with 40 seconds left again. After working the shot clock down to five seconds, Morningside came out of a timeout but had to settle for a long 3-pointer, which sailed out of bounds.
The Sharks were slated to have the final possession, but an early turnover gave the Mustangs the ball with 1.7 seconds left and the ball in the halfcourt. The Sharks came up with another late stop, as Jeangerard deflected the inbounds pass.
The Mustangs could not hold off the Sharks in the final period, as NSU started off on a 5-0 run. Morningside stopped the bleeding with their first bucket of the second overtime with 2:50 left, but NSU allowed only two more points down the stretch to seal the win. Mullan led the way in extra time, with a team-high six of 13 points after regulation.
Cahill finished the game as the fourth double-digit scorer with 10 points, while
Maurice Fuller (So., Westfield, Ind.) scored nine points on three 3-pointers.
The Sharks will conclude the Cruzin Classic on Wednesday, when the NSU takes on Blue Mountain at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcasted live on FM 88.5.
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