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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team (4-3) will end 2014 and head into the winter break after hosting the West Texas A&M Buffs (5-4) Thursday at 8 p.m. and the Missouri-St. Louis Tritons (8-0) Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
The Sharks hold a 4-3 record going into the weekend, but have had several high points in the early season. As always, NSU has faced a brutal schedule, but is 3-1 against NCAA Division II teams. Their lone DII loss came this past Saturday at the hands of Midwestern State (75-55), a team head coach Gary Tuell called the best team he's faced in his 11 years here.
 
Prior to the loss, NSU has had marquee wins over the likes of Seton Hill (85-55) and Tampa (86-82). Despite the season-long loss of Casey Carroll (Jr., Youngstown, Ohio), the lynchpin of last year's system, the Sharks have seen several players step up. Chris Page (Jr., Plainfield, Ind.) has emerged as one of the top scorers in the SSC, averaging 20.3 points per game. Justin Jeangerard (Sr., Weaverville, Calif.) is shooting over 50 percent from both the floor and 3-point range, while newcomer Harrison Goodrick (So., Sydney, Australia) has anchored the post, with 11.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
 
NSU is currently one of the nation's elite 3-point shooting teams at 11 made per game (ninth in the nation), a common trait with last year's squad. Unlike the 2013-14 Sharks, this year's team has a loaded bench. The second unit has been led by veteran Brian Cahill (Sr., Arlington, Va.), who has made an impact across the box score in just under 20 minutes a game. The rest of the second unit is made up of underclassmen loaded with potential. Tuell relied on his younger players heavily against Midwestern State, and may look to give them more experience this weekend.
 
NSU's final two opponents of 2014 are among the best teams on the schedule. West Texas A&M is led by first-year head coach Tom Brown, one of DII's most successful assistant coaches over the last two decades. He previously coached at Winona State, the NCAA National Champions in 2006 and 2008 and the Program of the Decade according to DII Bulletin. Brown helped guide Winona State on a 57-game winning streak, the longest in NCAA DII history. This season, he has the Buffs trending up and playing a style similar to NSU's. They average 8.4 treys per contest, which bodes well for fans looking for a high scoring game against the Sharks Thursday.
 
Missouri-St. Louis, who will face the Buffs on Saturday at the NSU Arena, comes to Fort Lauderdale with an 8-0 record. They are currently ranked 18th in the D2SIDA national media poll and were picked to finish second to Drury in Great Lakes Valley Conference, one of the elite leagues in the nation. The Tritons are rolling through their schedule winning their last five games by an average of 38 points per game. If they already did not pose enough of a challenge for NSU, the Tritons' Tylor Wimbush will make his season debut this weekend. Wimbush was an All-GLVC First Team selection last year and a potential All-American.
 
After the weekend, the student-athletes will enter the mandated winter break and will not practice for over a week. The Sharks will return on Jan. 3 to face Eckerd on the road and will return to the NSU Arena on Jan. 10 to host No. 2 Florida Southern.