MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team fell prey to a big second-half-opening run to Arkansas Tech in their first game at the FIT Winter Classic, losing 76-61 Friday evening at the Clemente Center.
 
The Sharks (4-5) buried 10 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes and just trailed by two at the half to the Wonder Boys (6-2), 40-38. Harrison Goodrick (Jr., Sydney, Australia) hit a layin to start the scoring and tie things up after the break, but an ATU 19-5 run immediately following pushed them ahead, and they kept the advantage above 12 the rest of the way.
 
In the opening frame, Chris Page (Sr., Plainfield, Ind.) hit 4-of-5 from long range and had 12 points. He was joined for team-high honors by Goodrick, with 12 in just 12 minutes. For the second straight game, Dwayne Gibson, Jr. (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind.) was in double digits, scoring 11, including at one point in the second half, seven of the Sharks' nine. He was an efficient 5-of-7 from the field.
 
Just behind that trio was Casey Carroll (R-Jr., Youngstown, Ohio), who scored eight. Combining for 10 off the bench were junior Remi Farrell (Woodbridge, Conn.) and freshman Pat Huffine (Indianapolis, Ind.), each hitting one of the Sharks' 12 total 3-pointers.
 
Arkansas Tech was led by Andrew Guillory with 19 and Marquis Yates' 18. The Wonder Boys outrebounded the Sharks 48-27, and shot just under 52 percent in the game.
 
NSU took great care of the basketball on Friday, committing just three turnovers while dishing out 17 assists. Mike Chalas (Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) led the way with five, while his backcourt mates BJ Edwards (So., Fort Myers, Fla.) and Troy Spears (So., Martinsville, Ind.) each had three. Those three guards did not have a single turnover, nor did Gibson, all logging at least 18 minutes of playing time.
 
The squad is right back at it again on Saturday in Melbourne to wrap up the classic, tipping off at noon against Lane.