FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Having not faced off since back in 2002, both Nova Southeastern and Indianapolis made up for lost time on Friday night. The Sharks squandered a five-point lead in the final 26 seconds of regulation before dominating the majority of the overtime period to hold on for a wild 82-78 victory at NSU Arena.
The contest seemed all but over when Harrison Goodrick put Nova Southeastern in front 67-62 in the late moments of the second half. A missed one-and-one opportunity left the door open, though, before the Greyhounds' Ajay Lawton drilled a deep triple with six seconds showing on the clock to force five more minutes of basketball.
Rather than hang their heads following the tough turn of events, the Sharks responded by tallying the first eight points of the overtime session. Even more impressive was the defensive effort that held Indianapolis scoreless for the first 3:54 during that span. A Jesse Kempson three-pointer ended the Greyhound drought, but by then the Sharks had built enough of a cushion to seal the deal for their third victory of the season.
Goodrick put forth yet another strong performance in the win, finishing with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds to pace four Nova Southeastern players in double-figures. Troy Spears added 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Dwayne Gibson recorded all 12 of his points after halftime to go along with a career-high five blocks.
The Sharks defense started the way it finished, and grabbed an 11-0 advantage after holding Indianapolis scoreless for nearly the first seven minutes of the ball game. However, a four-minute scoreless drought of their own allowed the Greyhounds to not only climb back into the contest, but pull ahead 19-13 after Uindy drained one of its 18 treys on the night.
Nova Southeastern eventually entered intermission trailing 32-30, but came out flat and quickly found itself down by double-digits for the first time at the 16-minute mark of the second half.
Yet, the Sharks regained their footing and responded with a 9-0 spurt capped by a Spears steal and lay-in. After trading baskets, Goodrick finally put Nova Southeastern back in front 55-54 with a deuce to give the Sharks their first lead since the 11:14 mark of the opening half.
Despite missing a couple attempts down the stretch, NSU earned the win at the free throw line. All in all, the Sharks converted 24-of-30 from the charity stripe, whereas the Greyhounds hit just 4-of-8 overall.
Pat Huffine and Nikita Orap each showed up in big spots for the Sharks in the 'W', combining for 17 points and six boards off the bench.
With just one day off, NSU will hit the road for the Florida Tech Winter Classic where it will meet Point at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. For complete coverage of the action, log onto NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball.
