640 SPORTS | LIVE STATS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (14-10, 6-8 SSC) will look to move back into fifth place in the Sunshine State Conference standings with a win Wednesday on the road against the Florida Tech Panthers (14-10, 7-7 SSC) at 7:30 p.m. The game will broadcast live on 640 Sports.
“No one is playing better than Florida Tech right now,” said head coach
Gary Tuell. “With recent wins over Florida Southern, Rollins, Saint Leo and Eckerd it’s clear that this is the hottest team in the league and maybe the best team at this stage of the season. I saw this coming after we beat them earlier in the season. Once they changed their lineup, figured out who their best six players were, and got them on the court together these guys have been unbeatable. Give Billy Mims a lot of credit for the job he’s done coaching this team.”
The Panthers have improved since losing to NSU earlier this season, 78-72. Since then, the Panthers are 7-2, with all of their wins coming in succession by an average of 11 points.
“The problem everyone faces when playing Tech is matching up with their size,” stated Tuell. “It’s not their height that worries you, although they certainly have plenty of that. But what makes them so difficult to play against is their width. I know Florida Tech is starting football next fall, but their football coaches must be drooling when they watch the basketball team play. Most of Tech’s starters could step on a football field and be immediate impact players. Tony Tubbs is 6-5 and has to be pushing 280. Jermaine Jackson is a Jerome Bettis clone at 6-3 and about 250. David Usic is 6-9 and 230. Cameron Stahl goes at 6-9 and about 265. Chris Carter goes 6-5 and over 200. Randy Echols is 6-5 and pushing 200 or more. This is a team that thinks a balanced meal is a Big Mac in each hand. And then there’s Julius Reid who quarterbacks their team and makes all the big plays for them when they need a spark.
“We like to emphasize blocking out for defensive rebounds, but it’s easier to block out the sun than to block out guys like Tubbs and Stahl and Jackson. We also encourage our guys to take a few charges on defense, but you have to question the risk/reward when you ask kids our size to plant their feet and let Jackson and Tubbs and Carter run over them. I saw a guy from Rollins try to take a charge against Jackson and not only did the Rollins kid go down, but another player standing behind him and a Rollins cheerleader all fell in a heap! When the play was over the court was littered with players and cheerleaders and Jackson was still standing. To his credit, he was nice enough to go over and help everyone up. When Jackson goes to the rim it’s like bowling for dollars. Bodies scatter.”
The Sharks will be seeking a win and a chance to move back into fifth in the standings, a place they stood for a month before Florida Tech caught up. The reward of playing in the 5th place/4th place game is still vague, as there is a current tie between Eckerd and Rollins at 3rd place in the league. Regardless of the finish, the Sharks are going to need to finish the year strong and defeat a top-tier team in the tournament in order to advance their season past the conference tournament.
“I’m proud of our team,” stated Tuell. “I’m proud of the way they’ve improved and continued to work hard. I’m proud of their attitudes and their work ethic and the way they share the ball and hang in there together. This has been one of the most rewarding and satisfying seasons I’ve had as a coach, and all the credit for that has to go to our players and our assistant coaches.
“We’re coming into the Tech game riding some momentum after the shooting clinic we staged against Lynn. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team execute so efficiently on offense or do a better job of moving the ball and finding open shooters. And things always look good when the shots go in, which they certainly did against Lynn. It’s unrealistic to think we’ll shoot that well again on Wednesday, or any other night, for that matter. But we do rank first in the Sunshine State Conference in both overall field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage, which is quite an accomplishment for a group of guys who don’t get a lot of recognition or respect. We’ve evolved nicely as a team. We don’t have to rely on the 3-point shot as much as we did earlier in the year, and that’s helped our offensive production. We still don’t get to the foul line as often as I think we should. If we ever get the chance to shoot free throws as often as some other teams in this league, then we’ll be very difficult to beat in the SSC tournament.”
The Sharks are coming off a game in which they tied a program record by shooting 66.7 percent from the floor against Lynn. With a big Senior Day win, the Sharks have plenty of reason to feel confident. If the Sharks continue their strong shooting, rattling off three-straight wins becomes a possibility. If the Sharks can win the final two regular season games and win in the first round of the SSC Tournament, the team will tie the program’s most wins in a season during the NCAA era.
“We’ve done enough to avoid playing in the dreaded 8 vs. 9 seed game in the first round of the tournament, and that’s good,” said Tuell. “Where we end up in the standings and who we play in the opening round of the tournament probably depends on the outcome of our next two games. But honestly, it doesn’t matter. We’re playing very well right now. We’re excited about the postseason and we’re looking forward to whomever we’re matched up against in our first game. What happens in the next two games against Tech and Barry will have very little impact on our team’s approach to the tournament. We’re going to be the underdog and we know we’re going to face one of the top-four teams in our first game. We’re confident that we can compete with anyone in the league. We’re in a good place right now. We have two very physical road games coming up to end the regular season and our first priority is just to stay healthy and have fun. Everything else will take care of itself.”
Fans can listen to the game live on 640 Sports. The game will also be available via live stats
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