Box Score
MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men's basketball team (0-1) dropped its season-opening game against the Paine Lions (1-0), 95-85, Friday to start Florida Tech's SSC vs. SIAC Tipoff Challenge.
Despite the loss,
Stian Berg (Jr., Baerum, Norway) had a career-high 26 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting. Berg attacked the basket consistently, playing both point and shooting guard, and also made the defense pay from long range with three 3-pointers.
Mike Terry (Fr., Ironton, Ohio) made his collegiate debut for NSU and led the team with seven rebounds and four assists. Three of Terry's rebounds were on the offensive end.
The Sharks had a rough start to their season, as Paine torched NSU at the beginning of the game. The Lions made nine of their first 12 shots to build an early 23-12 lead. Paine would not continue to shoot 75 percent, but turnovers and offensive rebounds gave the Lions the extra possessions they needed to maintain a double-digit lead through the rest of the first half.
NSU would enter the break trailing, 48-37. NSU shot 56 percent in the first half on 14-for-25 shooting. However, Paine capitalized on their extra possessions, scoring 18 points off turnovers and offensive rebounds. Berg scored a team-best 13 first-half points on 5-for-5 shooting.
Paine began the second half like the first, shooting lights out from the floor. They drained seven of their first 10 shots from the floor to build an 18 point lead just five minutes into the half. Berg continued to shot perfectly from the floor, but the rest of the team shot 2-for-8 from halftime up to the 11:30 mark.
NSU would trail by as much as 21 points with 10:47 left. The Sharks would make their run from there, cutting the deficit to eight points in just four minutes. NSU would come within five points of the Lions with five minutes left but could not catch up. Paine shot 6-for-6 over the remainder of the game, and clinched at the free throw line, to take the win.
NSU would finish the game with a 57 percent shooting mark on 29-for-51 shooting from the floor. The Sharks also completed 40 percent of their 3-pointers. However, 16 turnovers and 12 Paine offensive rebounds resulted in 32 points for the SIAC contenders. The Lions also scored 52 of their 95 points in the paint.
Casey Carroll (So., Youngstown, Ohio) made his NSU debut and scored 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting. He also tallied six rebounds and two steals. Juniors
Maurice Fuller (Westfield, Ind.) and
Justin Jeangerard (Weaverville, Calif.) gave the Sharks bench production Friday. Fuller finished with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists. Jeangerard scored 14 of his 12 points in the second half on 6-for-10 shooting.
NSU will look to bounce back Saturday when the Sharks finish their opening-season tournament against Claflin at 5:30 p.m.
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