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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (13-13, 7-9 SSC) will begin the Sunshine State Conference Tournament this Wednesday, on the road, against Saint Leo (16-10, 10-6 SSC) at 7 p.m. The matchup between the sixth-seeded Sharks and the third-seeded Lions can be heard live on 640 Sports.
The game will be a rubber match between the two, as the opponents split the season series. In the most recent matchup between the two on Feb. 18, the Sharks were throttled by Saint Leo in a game that was not as close as the 61-49 score indicated. It was one of the worst offensive performances in program history, as the Sharks scored four points over the all-time program-low mark.
“Coming home from Saint Leo two Saturdays ago, I wasn’t sure how our players would respond to the challenges in front of them,” said head coach
Gary Tuell. “As a staff, we spent four hours on the bus trying to evaluate what happened to us at Saint Leo. They kicked our rear ends seven ways to Sunday. Our staff questioned the things we’re doing, the players we’re doing it with and wondered whether our guys would hang it up and go through the motions in their final two games or whether they would shake off that loss and give us the effort we’ve come to expect all year. We got the answer we were hoping for when they played with tremendous heart and effort in beating Lynn at Lynn on Wednesday and then performed beautifully at home Saturday in a big win over Rollins.”
The Sharks rebounded from their loss with two straight victories against Lynn (61-59) and Rollins (90-79). The back-to-back wins moved NSU two spots up the standings. Against Lynn, the Sharks competed in one of the most bizarre games in program history. Lynn had an opportunity to steal the win on a foul call within the last second, but the Fighting Knights were called for a technical during a dead-ball situation. NSU’s
Teddy Tassy (Sr., Port-au-Prince, Haiti) sealed the win with two technical free throws. Against Rollins, the Sharks outscored the preseason SSC favorites by 12 points in the second half to bring the team’s record back to .500.
“Lynn had beaten us by 15 at our place, the worst conference loss we suffered this year, and for our guys to come off that performance at Saint Leo and play with great determination and heart at Lynn, told us all what we needed to know about this team,” said Tuell. “Rollins had beaten us by nine at their place, but they really dominated us in that game with their athleticism. I knew after our effort at Lynn that we would have a chance to turn that around on Saturday, and we did. Our guys were terrific. It’s so difficult to come back from a loss like the one we suffered at Saint Leo, and to respond with the kind of determination we showed in beating Lynn and Rollins speaks volumes about the character and desire of this team. That’s the plus side.
“On the negative side, all of our hard work, effort and determination to beat Lynn and Rollins only gets us a rematch in the first round of the conference tournament with the hottest and perhaps best team in the league right now in Saint Leo. They’ve won seven in a row, spanked just about everybody in the process, and humiliated us. I can’t imagine a more difficult first round opponent on their floor than Saint Leo. And I can’t emphasize enough how advantageous it is for them to be playing at home. If you look at the statistics for individual players and teams, I think you’ll find that Saint Leo is a much better offensive team, especially in terms of shooting, when they’re playing at home as opposed to playing on the road. Their defense is the best in the league regardless of where they play, but at home they have some guys who seem to shoot it considerably better than they do on the road.”
The Sharks are not only even on the season with Saint Leo, but the two teams have also gone an even 17-17 all-time. The game is sure to be a hard fought battle with both teams coming in with momentum. The Lions will be hosting a postseason men’s basketball game for the first time in school history and fans are expected to come out in droves to see the Lions attempt to topple the Sharks. If the Sharks can win at Saint Leo, it will prove the team has the talent and drive to win the entire tournament.
“In our last game with Leo, they dominated us in every phase of the game. Their execution, energy, effort and confidence were light years ahead of our team on that day,” stated Tuell. “I’m not sure if we’ll even practice on Monday and Tuesday. We might be better served to spend those two days having team and individual sessions with Dr. Steve Russo, our sports psychologist. Sometime between now and Wednesday night we have to find five guys who believe they can win at Saint Leo. I know I haven’t slept well since that game, mostly because I see Marcus Ruh and Trent Thomas in my dreams pouring in shots from every conceivable angle. That was a nightmarish game that continues to cause a lot of sleepless nights for us. The prospect of reliving the nightmare this Wednesday will either motivate us to play better or cause us to sleep like babies for the next six months. And you know how babies sleep. They wake up crying every two hours.”
Fans can listen to the game live on 640 Sports or watch the game
HERE. Live stats will also be available
HERE. Follow the Sharks on Twitter at
www.Twitter.com/NSU_MBasketball.
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