FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team sets out for their third straight win on Saturday, returning to the NSU Arena to battle Saint Leo at 4 p.m.
The Sharks (7-9, 3-5 SSC) are coming off of back-to-back road victories against Sunshine State Conference adversaries, defeating Florida Tech and Tampa in three days' time. Now, three days later, they face the Lions (11-7, 4-4 SSC), a game ahead of them in the league standings. Earlier this season in St. Leo, the Sharks fell despite a late comeback, 93-88.
NSUSharks.com and
Gary Tuell conversed about the Saturday matchup:
Q: Like other games, you battled back against Tampa, overcoming a huge second-half deficit, except this time your squad got over the hump. How refreshing was it to take that next step on Wednesday? GT: "It was fun for everyone because our four freshmen – Dwayne Gibson Jr. (Indianapolis, Ind.),
Pat Huffine (Indianapolis, Ind.),
Nikita Orap (Moscow, Russia) and
Austin Marciniak (Uniontown, Ohio) – were on the floor the final 12 or 13 minutes and played with great determination and composure. They executed at both ends of the floor and showed a lot of heart as well as a lot of poise down the stretch. Of course, having
Harrison Goodrick (Jr., Sydney, Australia) in there with them helped, because Harrison is such a warrior and a leader and he helped keep them focused. We had a lot of tired guys on the bench and I'm sure the five on the floor were pretty tired by the end of the game, too, but they brought us back from 20 down and they deserved the opportunity to finish the game for us. I thought we played with the same composure on Monday at Florida Tech. We built a big lead in the first half on some lights-out shooting, especially by
Troy Spears (So., Martinsville, Ind.), but we knew Tech would come out in the second half playing harder and flying around, doing whatever they could to get back in the game … And they did. But we kept our composure and our focus. I don't think Tech got a second shot in the final seven minutes of the game. We needed to be poised to get out of Tech with a win and we were. It carried over for us at Tampa when we were struggling. We're learning. We're growing. We're getting smarter."
Q: That makes two conference wins in a row to hit the midway point. How does that affect your squad heading into the second go-round against SSC foes? GT: "The two road wins this week obviously gave us a lift, put a little more pep in our step and gave us some confidence that we needed. But I don't know if there's such a thing as momentum in this league. Every night is a different challenge and if you don't show up to play, it doesn't matter how well you did in your last game or last games. You have to come prepared and focused and ready to give your best effort because everybody in this league is capable of hurting your feelings if you aren't playing your best. Our goal is to live in the 'now' and not look back or look ahead. Just take the opportunity in front of you and make the best of it."
Q: Again, like other previous matchups, your first meeting with Saint Leo this season came down to the wire. What stands out to you about that game? GT: "Well, we played with a lot of energy and effort, but when the game was tied and on the line with two minutes to play we just didn't execute at either end. We didn't do the things you have to do to win on the road. We played all 15 guys and got a heck of an effort from our guys. But we weren't mature enough or ready to win on the road. I love Saint Leo's team. I think they have one of the best backcourts in this league and that's saying a lot because there are a lot of great backcourts in this league. Their guards are terrific shooters and passers, they do a great job sharing the ball and Caleb Stewart is a tremendous offensive player who can play inside and outside and score from anywhere. They do a great job defending the 3-point shot. When they play well, they are as good as anyone in the league."
Q: What, if anything, is different in your preparation for the Lions for Saturday's game? GT: "That's a funny question. This will be our fifth game in 11 days. This will be our third game in six days. We are exhausted. Saint Leo hasn't played since Saturday. This will be there first game in seven days. They've had all week to prepare for us and they're obviously the better-rested team. We got back from Tampa Thursday morning around 3 a.m. and gave the guys Thursday off. We really have a lot of guys beat up and tired and can't do much of anything to prepare other than watch some film and get up some shots. We'll have a more extensive walk-through on Saturday than normal, but honestly with five games in 11 days and three in six days, the best we can hope for right now is just to get through this day the best we can, grind as hard as we can for as long as we can, and hope there's enough fumes in the tank to get us home with a win. For us, this game is like the 15th round of a heavyweight title fight and we're just trying to hold on right now because we don't have a lot of legs left."
Q: Your team is a lot different than it was all the way back on November 21, as surely as Saint Leo is too. What can you tell us about where your team is now? GT: "We're growing together, coming together. We've had to play two games this week without our leading scorer,
Chris Page (Sr., Plainfield, Ind.), and that's been good for us. Our other guys have stepped up. We've done a great job of sharing the ball and involving a lot of people in scoring rather than relying on Chris. Obviously we can't be as good as we want to be without Chris, but this isn't about one guy. This is a team sport and we need everybody contributing, including Chris. Everyone is valuable. Everyone brings something to the table for us. Early in the year we did our best to involve a lot of guys so that they would be better prepared to handle opportunities as they came up during the season. The four freshmen brought us back from the dead at Tampa and not only justified our faith and confidence in them, but also showed how much they've grown. We've seen their development in practice every day and Wednesday you got to see it in a game. This team is very good when it plays together and shares the ball. When all the guys are busting their rear ends on defense and helping on the glass, we give ourselves a chance. No one guy can win games for you and no team that does anything significant is about one guy. No matter how good LeBron James is or Steph Curry is, they can't win games by themselves. That's the beauty of basketball when it's played the right way. I think we're learning that.
"Hopefully Chris sees that he doesn't have to do everything by himself. If he figures that out, we'll all be better down the stretch. Chris needs these guys and they need him. Hopefully we're beginning to understand that and certainly we have been able to play well recently without him. We're much better defensively than early in the year. We have a much greater appreciation as a team for getting stops, blocking out, gang rebounding, doing little things. We're having fun. We have some great character guys with big hearts and our chemistry is excellent. Winning always helps because guys see tangible results from the effort they put into the hard work. I'm especially proud of the way
Harrison Goodrick has stepped up and elevated his game since Christmas. Same for Dwayne Gibson. And I'm probably most proud of
BJ Edwards (So., Fort Myers, Fla.) for the way he's handled his role and for the attitude and spirit and leadership he brings to the floor and the locker room for us. He's such a joy to be with, and his joy rubs off on everyone, makes us all better. I'm proud of those four freshmen, not because they helped us win at Tampa, but for their work ethic in practice and for the way they've accepted their roles and the energy and effort all four of them give us every day. I've said all year that we're very close to being a good team. It hinges on everyone pulling together and playing together and trusting each other. If we're riding one guy's coattails we won't be successful. We have to do this as a group because we have a lot of guys who can contribute. Individually we're okay, but collectively we can be very good. Early in the year we could not have come back against Barry or Florida Southern, but we did because we have character guys who enjoy playing together and who are improving. We could not have gone on the road and won at Tech or Tampa early in the year, especially the way we won those games, but we can do that now because the guys have put in the hard work in practice and they've grown closer as a team. We'd love to have another day or two to rest and prepare for Saint Leo, but we don't have that luxury. We just have to suck it up and grind it out Saturday. I don't know if there's enough left to get another win, but I do know this: our guys will try. They'll do the best they can. If it's good enough, then great for them. If it's not good enough, we'll get some rest on Sunday and go back to work Monday and get ready for the next one."
