Box Score TAMPA, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team (8-10, 4-5 SSC) won its second straight game Saturday on the road over the Tampa Spartans (11-8, 4-5 SSC), 75-61.
Chris Page (Jr., Plainfield, Ind.) and
Justin Jeangerard (Sr., Weaverville, Calif.) led the way, combining for 46 of the Sharks' 75 points. Page scored 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting along with five rebounds and four assists. Jeangerard scored 21 points on 7-for-11 with a team-best nine rebounds and two steals.
Stian Berg (Sr., Baerum, Norway) earned a team-best six assists, one short of a career high, to go with six points and four rebounds.
"I don't think we played anywhere near our best today," admitted head coach Gary Tuell. "Our execution on the offensive end at times was really poor and we had a span in the second half when we didn't play with a lot of focus on the defensive end. We can play much better than that. But Tampa is a really good club and I think they've been one of the hottest teams in our league over the last month. So anytime you can win on their floor, there is a lot to smile about."
The first half was a pleasant one for Shark fans, as NSU jumped out to a big lead. The Sharks drained eight of their first 14 points to establish a 25-16 advantage. The Sharks continued to shoot lights out, eventually leading by as much as 18 points in the first half at 36-18 with 6:09 remaining. The Spartans struggled to score for the majority of the half, but caught fire before halftime. Tampa outscored the Sharks 13-5 over the final six minutes to make the halftime score 43-31 NSU.
NSU shot 14-for-26 in the first half with 10 3-pointers on 18 attempts. The offensive showing was led by Page, who had 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting. The home Spartans shot a meager 13-for-31 before the break.
"When they opened up in a zone, and we were able to make some shots early, I know we were going to have the upper hand," said Tuell. "Because they obviously weren't convinced about the best way to defend us, our guys took advantage of the uncertainty, made big shots and gave us the opportunity to control the game for the first 20 minutes. Chris Page was at his best in that first half, proving once again why he's one of our league's best offensive players. No matter what Tampa did, no matter if they played zone or man, they couldn't find an answer for Chris. But any team with Richard Schmidt on the bench and Jordan Davis on the floor is going to come back and they did."
Tampa's momentum did not carry over into the second half right away, as the Sharks scored five straight unanswered points. Eventually, the Spartans rediscovered its groove and came barreling back into the game. Tampa reduced the deficit to four points at both the 12:09 and 8:11 marks. Both times, Jeangerard would answer with a momentum-stopping 3-pointer.
"Give Justin Jeangerard a ton of credit for the way he stepped up for us and made some huge buckets when the game was on the line in the second half," stated Tuell. "We kept going to him and he kept delivering."
The second of those 3's began a 10-4 run that put Tampa at a comfortable distance. The Sharks protected their lead until the 1:09 mark, in which Tampa needed to foul in order to stay in the game. However, Tampa's lack of fouls to that point required the Sharks inbound the ball four-straight times before going to the foul line with the score reading 69-59. The Sharks shot 6-for-8 at the line down the stretch to seal the win.
In the end, NSU shot 53.2 percent (25-for-47) from the floor and a scorching 48.4 percent (15-for-31) from 3-point range. NSU took 14 trips to the free throw line and knocked down 10. Tampa was held to 39.7 percent (25-for-63) and only made eight of 34 3-point attempts.
"Defensively, we did a much better job than the first time we played Tampa in December," Tuell stated. "Our zone closed down most of the driving gaps, and that's something we weren't able to do back in December. Our guys also did a nice job doubling their shooters, Tyler Zacur and Austin Rettig. We were able to keep them off balance most of the night. We also did a nice job as a team limiting Eugen McCrory in the post. He has to be a big focus when you play Tampa, and our guys were quick to double and triple team him. We weren't ever able to stop him, but we were at least able to slow him down a bit."
Maurice Fuller (Sr., Westfield, Ind.) made timely buckets in multiple ways, finishing with 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
Brian Cahill (Sr., Arlington, Va.) started and recorded eight points, four rebounds and three assists.
"I also appreciate Brian Cahill's leadership and his effort on both ends of the floor," said Tuell. "For the second game in a row he stepped in for
Harrison Goodrick (So., Sydney, Australia), and even though Harrison was able to play a little bit today, Brian's heart had a huge impact on the outcome of this game.
"Defensively, we did a much better job than the first time we played Tampa in December," Tuell stated. "Our zone closed down most of the driving gaps, and that's something we weren't able to do back in December. Our guys also did a nice job doubling their shooters, Tyler Zacur and Austin Rettig. We were able to keep them off balance most of the night. We also did a nice job as a team limiting Eugen McCrory in the post. He has to be a big focus when you play Tampa, and our guys were quick to double and triple team him. We weren't ever able to stop him, but we were at least able to slow him down a bit."
"We've played much better defensively since our loss at home against Florida Tech. Our commitment and our focus was more like it was in early January, and its more of what we'll need to compete against the team's in this league. I'm really proud of our players. This was a great win for us."
The Sharks will return home on Wednesday to face Eckerd for the second time this year at 7:30 p.m.
