Box Score BOX SCORE
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (8-3) earned its fifth straight win, as the Sharks defeated the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish (1-11), 75-71, in overtime on the road Wednesday.
Louie Schonauer (Sr., Lincoln, Ill.) had his best game in a NSU uniform, with a team-best and career-high 17 points. That included the game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds left in regulation time to send the game to overtime. He also hit career-highs with five rebounds and three steals.
"Maybe no one I've coached in 35 years has been more deserving of this kind of night than Louie.," stated head coach
Gary Tuell. "He was sensational. The team has won seven games, Louie Schonauer won the eighth game."
Iran Hollis (Sr., Hollywood, Fla.) followed with 13 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Hollis’ biggest bucket came with four seconds remaining in overtime, when he hit the game-winning put-back layup with four seconds left in overtime. Five of his rebounds were on offense, including one on the game-tying play.
The Sharks came out to a fast start, leading 9-3, after the first four minutes. However, PBA took over the half from there and held their largest lead at 28-19 with just over five minutes left in the period. NSU would enter the break trailing, 33-27. The Sharks put themselves behind by shooting 9-for-27 with 10 turnovers over the first 20 minutes.
The Sharks never regained the lead in the second half and fought for 20 minutes to stay in the contest. NSU kept the deficit to single digits the entire half, but PBA made several big shots to maintain its lead. With three minutes remaining and the Sharks down by seven points, Hollis made a put-back layup that started a game-tying 9-2 run.
However, PBA had two chances to put the game away. The Sailfish missed a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left, but after the Sharks could not convert on the other end, went to the foul line with a three-point lead with 11 seconds left. The Sharks were one foul away from the double-bonus, allowing
Lukas Roesch (Sr., Sugar Grove, Ohio) to dive in for the rebound after PBA’s Salim Fauris missed the first of a one-and-one. Roesch pushed the ball up the floor, leading to Schonauer’s game-tying trey.
The game remained close in overtime and was decided on the final two possessions. With less than a minute left, Roesch put the Sharks up with a big 3-pointer, but PBA answered back by tying the game at 71-71 with 22 seconds left. The Sharks worked the clock down to assure the final possession and got the ball to Hollis in the post. Hollis missed his first attempt, but fought for his rebound and secured a two-point lead on his next shot. NSU stole the inbounds pass and Schonuaer sealed the game with two made free throws.
Although the Sharks had their shooting struggles Wednesday, the bench came up big and combined to shoot 62 percent (13-for-21) from the floor. 11 total Sharks scored in the contest, nine of which had at least five points.
The Sharks will return home for the first time in 2013 to face No. 16 Florida Southern at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcasted live 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.
