FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – West Liberty's Dan Monteroso entered the night with only six three-point field goals to his credit thus far this season, yet poured in 7-of-11 attempts on Tuesday on his way to a career-high 40 points as the fifth-ranked Hilltoppers knocked off Nova Southeastern 84-67 at NSU Arena.
The Sharks trailed the NCAA Division II powerhouse by just a pair with 10:57 remaining in regulation, but ran out of gas down the stretch against West Liberty's up-tempo, pressure-packed style of play.
Three Nova Southeastern players scored in double-figures, led by Gerard Tarin's 19 points and nine rebounds. Troy Spears chipped in with 17 points of his own, while Harrison Goodrick notched his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the effort.
Nova Southeastern struggled to solve the Hilltoppers' full court pressure early on and found itself behind by double-digits just over eight minutes into the contest. The deficit furthered as the Sharks' turnover problems continued, not to mention Monteroso's 7-of-7 start from the floor.
Still, thanks to 12 first-half points from Tarin and four straight free throws to close, the Sharks were able to climb back within single digits at 43-35 heading into the halftime locker room.
The Sharks appeared much more comfortable facing the Hilltoppers' defense in the second half and saw their turnover numbers reduce from 14 to seven. That better fluidity on the offensive end allowed Nova Southeastern to close the gap to 46-41 on a Spears lay-in with 17:45 to play.
Continuing to hang around, a Goodrick lay-up cut the lead to three when one of Spears' three treys on the night pulled the Sharks all the way to within a pair at the midway point of the second half.
After exhausting so much energy to fight back, though, Nova Southeastern visibly wore down in crunch time. An 11-3 run by West Liberty stretched the margin back to 11 at the six-minute mark before an old-fashioned three-point play by Monteroso put the final dagger in the Sharks.
West Liberty owned a crucial advantage in the point-off-turnovers department, outscoring the Sharks by a 26-7 margin in that category.
NSU will round out its three-game home stint this Friday in a non-conference meeting with Indianapolis at 7:30 p.m. ET. For complete coverage of the action, log onto NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball.
