Box Score

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team (11-14) won its senior night game Monday against the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish (10-15), 76-67.
 
Prior to the game, NSU sent off seniors Stian Berg (Baerum, Norway), Brian Cahill (Arlington, Va.), Maurice Fuller (Westfield, Ind.) and Justin Jeangerard (Weaverville, Calif.). The seniors had a sharp night, with a combined 37 points and 15 assists.
 
"This was the seniors' night," said head coach Gary Tuell. "These are hard games to play because seniors get emotional, they feel pressure to win on their last night. I was proud of them, I thought they all performed admirably and played their butts off. Maurice Fuller was huge, he had a refuse to lose attitude out there and was going to make every shot he needed to make. Stian was terrific with the ball running our team. Brian was his usual tough self. Justin continued to play hard defensively and gave us great effort.
 
"No coach in this country is coaching four seniors with this much class and character. I know a lot of coaches say that stuff, and it's not always true. But my life has been blessed by being their coach. I's been an absolute privilege."

Individually, Chris Page (Jr., Plainfield, Ind.) scored a game-high 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting. He also had four rebounds and two steals. Harrison Goodrick (So., Sydney, Australia) came off the bench to score 14 points and bring in a game-best six boards. Fuller led all seniors with 16 points to go with five rebounds and four assists, tying a season high.

After a ceremony to honor the seniors, the Sailfish sent a message that there was a game to be played by opening up a 20-11 lead. Palm Beach Atlantic made eight of their first 13 shots, including four treys. Berg kept NSU in the contest with back-to-back 3-pointers, before an and-1 play from Goodrick tied the contest at 20. The Sharks worked their way to a six-point lead and entered the locker room ahead, 35-29.
 
"I thought our defense was really bad the first 10 minutes," admitted Tuell. "I didn't think we came out as focused as I'd liked. I thought, after a couple of timeouts, they responded and started giving great effort on the board and great effort against a great PBA team that is hard to guard. We gave up 20 points the first nine or ten minutes and gave up nine the rest of the half. We didn't start the second half terrific, but once we regained our focus I thought we battled really hard"
 
Jeangerard and Goodrick hooked up on the first bucket of the second half, stretching the lead to eight points. Palm Beach Atlantic would stay in the contest and not let its deficit grow past that mark until late in the game. The Sailfish would eventually tie it at 51 with 10:47 remaining. However, NSU never trailed in the second half, uncharacteristically scoring the next eight points in the paint or at the foul line to fend off the visitors.
 
Leading by two points with five minutes left, NSU ended the game outscoring Palm Beach Atlantic, 17-10. NSU shot 3-for-6 from deep over the final five minutes, with all three treys coming from Fuller. The Sharks also went 6-for-6 down the stretch at the foul line to seal the win.
 
"They had a refuse to lose attitude and they finally caught on to that mindset," Tuell stated. "We are playing much better as a team right now. Chris Page is doing a much better job of letting the other guys help him. And the other guys are doing a much better job of helping Chris and encouraging him. Our chemistry is great and our team is coming together at the right time. This is a great, fun time for us right now."
 
Overall, the Sharks shot 45.5 percent (25-for-55) and 34.3 percent (12-for-35) from long range. Palm Beach Atlantic shot 41.2 percent (21-for-51) overall and 33.3 percent (9-for-27) from beyond the arc. The Sharks ended the game with only six turnovers to the Sailfish's 14.
 
Berg ended the night with 12 points, three steals and a team-best five assists. Jeangerard finished his final game in the NSU Arena with nine points, four rebounds and four assists. Mike Chalas (Jr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) contributed four points in six minutes.
 
The Sharks will finish out the regular season Saturday at Saint Leo at 4 p.m.
 
"We are going to play our best Saturday. If we win, we win… and if we lose, we lose. But we want to at least go to Saint Leo and play well."