Box Score BOX SCORE
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (5-3) finished the Cruzin Classic 2-0 Wednesday, with a 70-64 win over Blue Mountain (5-8) at the NSU Arena in the Don Taft University Center.
Lukas Roesch (Sr., Sugar Grove, Ohio) had another big night, finishing with 28 points on an efficient 9-for-15 shooting. Roesch put himself on the foul line consistently, shooting 7-for-9 from the stripe. He also led the Sharks with eight boards, half of which were on the offensive end.
Justin Jeangerard (So., Weaverville, Calif.) and
Sean Mullan (Sr., Mangerton, Australia) each collected seven rebounds and scored 13 and 11, respectively. Jeangerard had a team-best four assists and three steals.
The Sharks came out strong and held their biggest lead of the game early at 17-10 with 11:15 left in the first half. Blue Mountain immediately answered back, outscoring the Sharks, 24-9, over the next nine minutes of play. The Sharks ended the first half by scoring the final seven points and entered the break down, 34-33.
Sean Mullan, who scored 10 of his 11 in the second half, took the lead with a layup on NSU’s first possession of the final period. From then on, NSU was in control but never pulled away to a double digit lead. Blue Mountain stayed within striking distance for the majority of the half.
With NSU up by two points with a minute left, Roesch found a cutting Mullan, who scored his final field goal and put the Sharks up by four points. Blue Mountain could not climb back into the contest from there and the Sharks won the game at the foul line, thanks in part to two clutch free throws by Jacob Reed (Jr., Perth, Australia) within the final 10 seconds of the contest.
The Sharks won the turnover battle, 5-to-11, and had two more offensive rebounds. NSU was able to convert both margins into 31 free throw attempts, 18 more than the competition. The Sharks shot at a 74 percent clip from the line (23-for-31).
NSU will take a NCAA-mandated break before returning to the NSU Arena on Dec. 30 to take on Benedict at 4 p.m.
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