Box Score

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team (7-10, 3-5 SSC) earned a home court victory Wednesday over the Saint Leo Lions (11-9, 3-5 SSC), 70-60.
 
"I'm proud of our team," stated head coach Gary Tuell. "We were not happy with our performance and our effort in our loss to Florida Tech. I like the way our guys responded, I thought they came out focused and shared the ball offensively and gave a much better effort on the defensive end. Their recognition was better and their focus was better. I thought our kids listened to the scouting report and understood what we needed to do to win the game. They went out and executed, which makes a coach feel great when your players do that."
 
The Sharks were led by a 27-point effort from Chris Page (Jr., Plainfield, Ind.), who was one point short of his career high. Page shot 9-for-15, went 3-for-6 from 3-point range and made all six of his free throw attempts. Justin Jeangerard (Sr., Weaverville, Calif.) had 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting and collected a team-best eight boards. Stian Berg (Sr., Baerum, Norway) was the team's leading playmaker with five assists to go with two steals.
 
The first half featured a close but low scoring battle. Saint Leo took their time and attempted to score in the paint on nearly every possession, while NSU continued to fire away from deep. NSU would lead the half for more than 14 minutes but struggled to create serious distance with the opponent.
 
Saint Leo briefly captured the lead at 17-16 with 6:33 left in the first half, but the Sharks answered with their first run of the game. NSU scored on its final six possessions of the period, leading to a 16-8 run that created the 32-25 halftime advantage. Both teams shot over 50 percent in the first half, but NSU created nine Lion turnovers and shot 8-for-15 from deep.
 
NSU continued to control the contest in the second half and never gave up its lead. A 3-pointer from Troy Spears (Fr., Martinsville, Ind.) gave NSU its first double-digit lead at 42-30. With just over 6 minutes remaining in the second half, Berg would convert on a driving layup that put the Sharks up, 58-40, NSU's largest lead of the night.
 
The Lions continued to fight and cut the Sharks' lead down to eight points at 63-55. However, Page, Spears and Mike Chalas (Jr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) combined to score on five straight free throws to keep the pride at bay. NSU led by 13 points with three seconds to go before a Cale Girtin 3-pointer at the buzzer sealed the final score.
 
"Saint Leo is a tough team to beat," admitted Tuell. "They are so well coached… you have to play darn near your best if you want to beat them because they make you play for 40 minutes and compete so hard. I thought our guys competed and we were a good club tonight."
 
The Sharks finished the game shooting 51.1 percent (23-for-45) from the floor and 43.8 percent (14-for-32) from downtown. Saint Leo shot 21-for-45 overall and committed 16 turnovers to NSU's nine. The Sharks finished one turnover high of the team's season low.
 
"I thought the guys who came in off the bench did a nice job for us. I thought Mike Chalas played well off the bench again. I thought Troy Spears played well and I thought Brandon Patchan (So., Tampa, Fla.) did a good job filling in for Brian Cahill (Sr., Arlington, Va.) when he got in foul trouble. This was a tough job for Brian tonight, having to guard those big guys from Saint Leo down inside. But he did a good job, was active, and did a heck of a job for us. I didn't think we had a chance to be honest with you when Harrison Goodrick (So., Sydeny, Australia) got sick before the game and couldn't play (Goodrick was scratched from the starting lineup right after the national anthem). So I'm even more proud of these guys because we were thinner than normal and smaller than normal."
 
NSU was shorthanded with the absence of Goodrick, but were aided by 14 points from the bench. Spears scored eight points on 2-for-3 shooting while Chalas scored six on 2-for-4 shooting. Maurice Fuller (Sr., Westfield, Ind.) also chipped in six points on a pair of 3's.
 
The Sharks will hit the road to start the next half of Sunshine State Conference basketball, taking on the Tampa Spartans Saturday at 4 p.m.