MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team overcame a 15-point deficit to No. 23 Barry to take a late lead, but were felled in the final minute by the Bucs, 89-86 on Wednesday night.
 
The Sharks (5-8, 1-4 SSC) trailed twice by that 15-point margin, the latest at 57-42 with 16:34 remaining. They slowly shaved it down, little by little, nearly doubling the Bucs from that point until the 8:27 mark (23-12) to make it only a four-point spread.
 
It was a one-possession game at 5:57, 74-71, but Barry scored six of the next eight, threatening to pull away. Again, the Sharks tightened up. Down 80-73, they went on a 9-2 run, ending with a Troy Spears (So., Martinsville, Ind.) 3-pointer at 1:10. Spears had a career-best 20, with this basket giving NSU their first lead since the 15:52 mark of the first half.
 
The Sharks held and got the ball back, but committed their first of two consecutive turnovers, with Barry then hitting a 3-pointer (before the second) and making two free throws (after) to go back up four with under 10 seconds left (87-83 at 7.3). Dwayne Gibson, Jr. (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind.) came down and hit a pull-up 3-pointer, capping a 15-point second half to cut it to one. The Sharks fouled Elvar Fridriksson immediately, with no time coming off the clock, but he made both free throws, and NSU couldn't get a shot off on the ensuing possession as time expired.
 
Spears went 8-of-11 from the field, making all three of his 3-pointers to tie Chris Page (Sr., Plainfield, Ind.) with 20 points to pace the Sharks. Harrison Goodrick (Jr., Sydney, Australia) posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Gibson's 15 was one off his career best, and like Spears, he too made three 3's.

The Sharks shot a season-best 61.8 percent from the field in the game, making a blistering 77 percent of their shots (20-of-26) in the second half, including 7-of-8 in that timeframe on 3-pointers, a success rate of 87.5. Their 11-for-20 mark overall from long range was also a season high.
 
Barry's Yunio Barrueta had game honors with 25 points, but just five after the break.
 
The next matchup for the Sharks comes from the NSU Arena on Saturday when they host defending National Champion Florida Southern at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN3 as part of the doubleheader for their DII National Game of the Week.