FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Fresh off Thanksgiving, Nova Southeastern returns to action with a pair of competitive matchups this weekend. Beginning Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, the Sharks square off in an exhibition on the road against familiar-foe St. Thomas (Fla.) before clashing with 20th-ranked Southern Connecticut State Sunday at 2 p.m. at NSU Arena.
The Sharks are a week removed from their 98-78 Sunshine State Conference defeat at the hands of Tampa, but can hopefully bounce back versus a St. Thomas (Fla.) squad they contained until about the final four minutes back in their season opener on November 11. Head coach Gary Tuell and company led by as many as 12 at the break, but allowed a late 17-2 run down the stretch as the Bobcats prevailed with the 71-65 win.
A second meeting with the Bobcats may be just what forward Gerard "Junior" Tarin needs to find his rhythm once again. The 6-foot-9 newcomer lit up St. Thomas (Fla.) the first time around for 22 points and 10 rebounds on 10-of-14 shooting. Tarin hasn't been the same since, however, after missing the Sharks' victory over Palm Beach Atlantic before tallying just four points at Tampa last weekend.
Point guard BJ Edwards, meanwhile, appears to have his confidence sky-rocketing more with each game by averaging 13.3 points, converting 17 of his team-high 19 attempts from the free throw line. The junior tied a career-best with 14 points in the Sharks' SSC debut, and later broke that mark with a 16-point effort in the ensuing contest against the Spartans.
Together, both Edwards and Tarin will be major factors if Nova Southeastern is to knock off Southern Connecticut State on Sunday. Coached by former Chicago Bulls player, Scott Burrell, the Owls are in the national picture once again having won the Northeast-10 Southwest Division title and reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the previous three years.
Named a Preseason All-American by Sporting News, guard Michael Mallory has lived up to the billing thus far. Through five games, Mallory has posted an NCAA Division II-best 28.6 points per game to go along with 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists. As recently as Friday, the senior was also selected as the Division II National Player of the Week by the United States Basketball Writers of America.
For coverage of both matchups this weekend, log onto
NSUSharks.com and click on the provided links on the
schedule page.
