FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The sixth-seeded Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team (12-15) earned an upset in the first round of the 2015 Sunshine State Conference Tournament over the third-seeded Tampa Spartans (18-10), 91-84. NSU will move on to face the second-seeded, 14th nationally ranked Barry Buccaneers Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
"I'm really proud of our seniors," said head coach Gary Tuell. "They really battled and fought hard all night long against a big, talented team. I'm happy that they get the opportunity to play again in this tournament. We were fortunate last year to win an opening round game, but had a tough day on the second day. It's nice to play again in the semifinal and I hope we stick around for the final two.
"I thought we played hard, I thought our offense was a tough mismatch for them and our guys did a good job of making shots. We've beaten that team three times this year and they finished third in the league. It's hard in this league to beat somebody once, and if you've watched a lot of ball in this league you know that's true. It's almost impossible, unless you're Florida Southern, to beat somebody twice. But for a team to beat a team as good as Tampa three times is impressive. I'm really proud of our kids."
Chris Page (Jr., Plainfield, Ind.) had the best game of his two-year career at NSU, with career highs of 30 points and 12 rebounds. He shot 7-for-14 from the floor and 15-for-16 from the free throw line, two away from David Naylor's free throw record. All five Sharks scored in double figures Friday, with seniors
Stian Berg (Baerum, Norway) and
Maurice Fuller (Westfield, Ind.) scoring 14 each on a combined 7-for-12 shooting.
"I thought it was a team win, I think we worked hard on defense especially," said Berg. "When
Harrison Goodrick (So., Sydney, Australia) got in foul trouble, I thought everybody stepped up, especially
Justin Jeangerard (Sr., Weaverville, Calif.) and
Brian Cahill (Sr., Arlington, Va.). On offense, we shared the ball well… we just had a good game."
"Beating a team three times in one year is pretty tough. I think it has to do with our leadership on this team and playing together as one family, it's really big for us," Fuller stated. "We got great play out of everybody, including bench play. I think when we play our hardest… we are going to be hard to beat."
NSU led for a majority of the first half but never ran away with the game. NSU jumped out to a six point lead within the first five minutes of the contest and would lead for 16 minutes of the period. NSU gave up the lead for a brief period, but were never in trouble. The Sharks found themselves leading by seven points with 2:15 remaining, but Tampa's all-conference point guard Jordan Davis kept the game from escaping with a four-point play. NSU answered with a five-point run to give NSU its largest lead of the half at 39-31. Once again, Davis hit a 3-pointer before the break, bringing the halftime score to 39-34.
The Sharks shot 46.4 percent in the first half and held Tampa to 38.7 percent and 5-for-19 shooting from 3-point range. Jeangerard shot 4-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first half for 12 points.
The Sharks rebuilt their lead to 45-38 in just three minutes, but once again Davis hit a clutch 3-pointer. From there, the Sharks kept control of the game with a balanced attack at the rim, going on a run of 6-for-7 shooting. NSU took a 63-54 lead, and for the first time, Tampa could not respond down by seven or more. The Sharks would stretch the lead to 14 with just under seven minutes remaining.
The Sharks led by as much as 15 points Friday, but the sixth-seeded team would fight all the way down to the horn. Tampa cut the deficit all the way down to four points with just under three minutes remaining, and once again with 49 seconds left. NSU worked through a full-court Spartan press, but used the clock and strong free throw shooting down the seal the win.
On the night, NSU shot 51 percent (26-for-51) from the floor and 10-for-24 from 3-point range. The Sharks made 38 trips to the foul line and drained 29 attempts. Tampa made 29 of 72 shots and 13 of 43 3-pointers. NSU won the rebounding battle, 32-22, and only committed 10 turnovers.
Goodrick was matched up with All-SSC post player Eugene McCrory, and performed admirably with 10 points and five rebounds. Cahill scored eight points off the bench on 3-for-5 shooting.
640 Sports will broadcast Saturday's game between NSU and No. 14 Barry, with the pregame show beginning at 7:15 p.m.
