MELBOURNE, Fla. – Harrison Goodrick recorded his fourth consecutive double-double with another monster effort, but a 15-point, second half deficit proved too much to overcome as a short-handed Nova Southeastern squad fell to Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras 84-79 on the final day of the Florida Tech Winter Classic.
Goodrick poured in 21 of his game-high 30 points after halftime to go along with 11 rebounds, while Nikita Orap notched 16 points in his first career start for the Sharks. A tough offensive start, though, resulted in an uphill battle for Nova Southeastern before the Gallitos held off the Sharks by converting some timely jump shots down the stretch.
Following consecutive victories heading into Monday, Nova Southeastern's record now drops to 4-7 on the year whereas Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras improves to 3-5 overall.
Nova Southeastern grabbed an early 7-6 advantage on an Orap triple just over four minutes into the contest. However, that would be the last time the Sharks would lead in the ball game as the Gallitos grabbed control thanks to their outside shooting performance that featured 16 made three-point field goals.
Felipe Souza knotted the game at 18-18 on an offensive put-back midway through the first half. The Sharks would go without a field goal for the ensuing 9:51, though, until a Goodrick lay-up with six seconds remaining in the first half cut the Gallitos' lead to 36-25 heading into intermission.
Trailing by double-digits, Goodrick took matters into his own hands by reeling off an incredible 13 points in the first 3:29 of the second half. The senior converted an old-fashion three-point play to pull the Sharks within a pair at the 17:15 mark, but wasn't done and evened up the score moments later at 42-42 after drilling one of his two treys on the afternoon.
Another Goodrick bucket kept the Sharks within five with 13:22 to play. Yet, with multiple starters missing Monday, Nova Southeastern struggled to find steady offense and gradually watched the deficit grow until its reached 15 following a three by Pedro Lopez.
Still, the Sharks continued to battle and closed to within four at the two-minute mark following a runner by BJ Edwards. A pair of free throws by Orap then cut the gap to three until four straight missed field goals in the final minute thwarted any sort of comeback opportunity,
Omar Font finished with a team-high 23 points to lead the Gallitos, converting an efficient 6-of-8 from the beyond the arc.
Following the holidays, NSU will return to the court at home on December 30 for a meeting with Embry-Riddle. For complete coverage of the action, log onto NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball.
