Box Score

MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team shot over 65 percent in the first half and just a shade under 50 percent overall in defeating Florida Tech on Saturday evening, 77-71.
 
Chris Page (Jr., Plainfield, Ind.) had 17 of his game-high 25 points in the first half, the seventh time he's reached that mark this season. He also added seven rebounds and three assists. Harrison Goodrick (So., Sydney, Australia) chipped in with a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards and he too had three assists.
 
The Sharks (10-14, 6-9 SSC) led by as many as 13 points in the second half, and though FIT (14-12, 4-10 SSC) cut it to three on three separate occasions in the final 2:06, it was never any closer. The last was 72-69 at the 1:22 mark, with NSU scoring five of the last seven points for the victory.

"Winning on the road is never easy in this league and it can't happen if you don't get contributions from everyone," said NSU head coach Gary Tuell. "This was as fine a game that we've played as a team all year. We've had other nights where individuals played well and we won, but this was the first time that our team put it together on both ends of the floor. I thought our guys showed a lot of love for each other and a lot of commitment to each other, and that was the difference."
 
After going 15-of-23 in the first 20 minutes, 65.2 percent, and making 6-of-12 from 3-point range, the Sharks took a 10-point lead into the locker room, 41-31. For the first five-plus minutes after the break, it was a nine-point lead or better.
 
FIT cut it to five at 12:52, 54-49, but Mike Chalas (Jr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Justin Jeangerard (Sr., Weaverville, Calif.) hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push it back to 11. Then seven straight for the Panthers made it a four-point game at 9:44 before Stian Berg (Sr., Baerum, Norway) hit a layin and Page knocked down four straight free throws to make it 10 again (66-56, 8:39).
 
When the Panthers made it a one-possession game for the final time, Page made 1-of-2 from the stripe, followed by a layup by Brian Cahill (Sr., Arlington, Va.). After two FIT free throws, Maurice Fuller (Sr., Westfield, Ind.) got two of his own to ice it and make the final score.

Besides Page and Goodrick, Jeangerard made his first three 3-pointers and had nine points, while Berg added eight points and four rebounds and Fuller had seven points, five boards and three steals.

"I thought we had great effort from every player," said Tuell. "The last time we played this team they beat us by 20 on the glass, today they beat us by three. Mo Fuller and Stian Berg combined for nine rebounds. Chris Page had seven and a couple of those he just snatched away from their players. Harrison (Goodrick) was terrific on the boards. At the end of the game, it seemed like every rebound belonged to Harrison or Mo. They played with such determination. Anytime you hold that team to four offensive rebounds in the half as we did in the second half, you know your kids are really playing as hard as they can.
 
"Mike Chalas and Troy Spears (Fr., Martinsville, Ind.) and Remi Farrell (So., Woodbridge, Conn.) did a great job coming off the bench. They provided us with a heck of a lift in the first half. Brian Cahill was steady and Stian Berg did a tremendous job of running our offense and getting the ball to the right people. Justin Jeangerard made big threes for us when they were making a run. And I thought Chris Page turned in his best performance of the year on both ends of the floor. He always has a chance to score because of his talent, but I thought that the deflections that he got on defense, the rebounds, and the effort that he gave us showed how good he can be when he's focused."
 
The Sharks ended at 48.9 percent from the field (23-of-47), made 10 3-pointers (in 25 attempts, 40 percent), and made 21-of-26 free throws (80.8). They held FIT to 38.1 shooting overall (24-of-63) and 7-of-34 from behind the arc, 20.6 percent
 
FIT was led by Jermaine Jackson with 18 points. Chris Carter, who fouled out in the final minutes, had 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
 
The Sharks will celebrate Senior Night next this Monday night, with tipoff from the NSU Arena at 7:30 p.m. Pregame ceremonies will honor Berg, Cahill, Fuller and Jeangerard.

"I was especially proud of the way that we finished," said Tuell. "We got a lot of defensive stops and for the most part we made our free throws. Mo (Fuller) made four huge ones, and Chris (Page) sealed the deal for us. By winning we give ourselves a chance to get the No. 5 seed in the (SSC) tournament, and that's been our goal for the last couple of weeks. Hopefully we can continue to play with the same effort and togetherness Monday night when we honor our four seniors. But I think the game that looms largest in everyone's minds is the final SSC game next Saturday at Saint Leo."