Box Score KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The sixth-seeded Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team (12-16) finished its 2014-15 season with a loss in the 2015 Sunshine State Conference Tournament Semifinals to second-seeded No. 14 Barry (24-4), 86-54, Saturday at the Silver Spurs Arena.
Harrison Goodrick (So., Sydney, Australia) scored a team-best 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting. He also served as the leading rebounder at five.
Justin Jeangerard (Sr., Weaverville, Calif.) and
Chris Page (Jr., Plainfield, Ind.) each had 12 points on a combined 8-for-19.
Barry jumped out to an early 16-6 lead to establish their control of the game. NSU answered with a 10-0 run to tie the game, but could not take the lead. NSU hit a cold spell down the stretch, scoring just two points over the final four minutes of the period. Barry reestablished a 10 point lead at 31-21 with 2:34 left before halftime. The Sharks held the Bucs to four points before the break, with Barry leading halfway through, 35-23.
NSU shot 1-for-8 from 3-point range in the first half and 10-for-23 overall. Barry took over half their attempts from 3-point range and drained seven. Goodrick scored 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting midway through.
The Sharks came out in the second half with fire, cutting the deficit down to four points with 16:41 left on the clock. Barry responded with their biggest run to that point, a 14-3 streak over the course of three and a half minutes. Goodrick broke up the streak with a driving layup, but Arie Williams hit his third straight 3-pointer to give Barry its largest lead to that point at 54-38.
For a brief moment, NSU calmed the storm and chipped into the lead, but did not threaten the two seed. With eight minutes remaining, Barry's Williams once again hit three straight 3-pointers to put the deficit over 20 points. Over the final six minutes, Barry outscored the Sharks, 18-7, to end NSU's run in the tournament.
Overall, NSU shot 45.5 percent (20-for-44) overall and 30 percent (6-for-20) from 3-point range. Barry's barrage of buckets in the second half brought their percentages to 48.4 (30-for-62) overall and 48.6 (17-for-35) from deep.
The game served as the final for the Sharks' four seniors,
Stian Berg (Baerum, Norway),
Brian Cahill (Arlington, Va.),
Maurice Fuller (Westfield, Ind.) and Jeangerard. Cahill, who recently became the Sharks' 11th 1,000 point scorer, finished his career with 1,035 points. Jeangerard finishes his career with 209 3-pointers made, two short of the all-time record. Berg finished with 231 assists, ranking eighth all time, while Fuller finished with 152 3-pointers, ranking seventh.
"I've had a long ride, played for four years and went through a lot of groups of guys with this team, a lot of graduating seniors," said Cahill. "There is no school I'd rather play for in this conference, for sure. This is a great conference for basketball, but when I look back on my time here, I'm so glad I picked Nova Southeastern and played with this group of guys."
"I know guys like Cahill and I, we never think about our numbers, it's all about team success," Jeangerard said. "That's what I'm most thankful for: having a teammate like him and having other teammates like that, and to play for a coach that truly believes in you and teammates that believe in you also. That's all you can ask for. Nova Southeastern has given me that for four years, and I can't thank them enough for letting me be a part of this."
NSU will bring back several talents in 2015, including starters in Goodrick and Page. They will also welcome back
Casey Carroll (Jr., Youngstown, Ohio) and bring in three early signees (learn about the
HERE). Check back with NSUSharks.com this week for a final Q&A with head coach Gary Tuell.
