BOX SCORE
SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (13-14) nearly erased an 18-point deficit, but was knocked out of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament in a loss to the Saint Leo Lions (17-10), 62-57, in Saint Leo, Fla. Wednesday night.
Robert Huntington (Sr., Perth, Australia) led all scorers in the game with 15 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the floor and 2-for-3 shooting from 3-point range. Huntington tied
Iran Hollis (Jr., Hollywood, Fla.) for the team-lead in rebounds with seven. Hollis also scored 11 points.
Shaun Pratl (Jr., Chicago Ridge, Fla.) was the Sharks’ most efficient scorer, dropping in 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting.
The Sharks fell behind early when they could not get their offense going. The Lions, who were hosting a postseason game for the first time in program history, played shutdown defense and held the Sharks to 28 percent (9-for-32) shooting in the opening half. The Lions made a leaping 3-point shot at the first-half buzzer to take their biggest lead of the game to that point, 37-24. Hollis led all Sharks in points at the break with six points.
The Lions carried their momentum into the second half and led by as much as 18 points with 16 minutes remaining. The Sharks never threw in the towel, as they outscored the Lions by 13 over the remainder of the game. The Sharks brought the score down to five points on multiple occasions and had the ball, down by three points, with 26 seconds left.
NSU went big with four forwards and freshman
Justin Jeangerard (Weaverville, Calif.) on its final possession. They were able to find Jeangerard in the left corner and, after a pump fake, the guard was able to get a clear look at a game-tying shot. Unfortunately, the ball rimmed out and the Lions sealed the game at the free throw line.
The Sharks were the more effective offensive team in the second half, as they picked up their shooting percentage to 50 percent (11-for-22). However, the Sharks never got in a rhythm behind the arc, shooting 4-for-18 in the game.
The contest was the final game in the careers of seniors
Teddy Tassy (Sr., Port-au-Prince, Haiti) and Huntington. The two Sharks ended their careers as the team’s leading scorers, with 11.4 and 11.2 points per game, respectively. Tassy scored eight points and collected five rebounds in the game.
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