LAKELAND, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team scored 14 of the final 20 points, leading to a 90-84 win over Florida Southern Saturday and sewing up the Sunshine State Conference's No. 5 seed in the process.
 
Chris Page (Sr., Plainfield, Ind.) scored 12 of his 28 points over the final four minutes (and was a perfect 9-of-9 from the line), while Nick Pendergast (Sr., Bridgewater, Conn.) had seven Shark points in a row late, including a 3-pointer for the game's final lead change. Manning the middle with his 10th double-double of the season was Harrison Goodrick (Jr., Sydney, Australia) with 13 points and a new school record of 21 rebounds, equaling Florida Southern's total as a team on the night.
 
The Sharks (11-15, 6-10 SSC) survived 16 made 3-pointers on the night by the Mocs (10-18, 5-11 SSC). To that end, Page had back-to-back 3's at 3:59 and 3:18 for a 76-73 lead, only to have FSC's Sheldon Zablotny hit one of his own to tie it just 20 seconds later.
 
Two free throws by Michael Volovic at 2:38 pushed the Mocs ahead, but the lead was short-lived, as Pendergast started his solo run with a turnaround baby hook in the lane at 2:26. After two misses by Volovic, Pendergast hit two of his own from the line, putting the Sharks up 80-78 with 1:47 left.
 
Again, a Zablotny '3' found the bottom of the net, putting FSC up 81-80 (1:22). The Sharks looked to regain the lead down low, but two close-in looks wouldn't fall. The third chance of the possession was the charm, as Goodrick's 20th rebound led to his fifth assist, finding Pendergast open on the left wing for the go-ahead 3-pointer.
 
After 3-of-4 free throws between Page and Pat Huffine (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind.) – who had new career-highs of 12 points and seven rebounds Saturday – the Mocs looked to climb back in with yet another make from long range, this one by Trey Moore with 11 seconds left. But Page sealed it at the line, with 4-of-4 sandwiched around an FSC miss for the big road win.

"It was really special to be here on Senior Night and to participate in a game that honored two great representatives in our league like Dominique Williams and Dylan Travis," said head coach Gary Tuell. "They are terrific players and we will miss them in our league. But it was also special to be able to come here and win, because we haven't had many teams pull that off. It's fitting that this NSU team did it, because these guys are as good as any team I have coached here, and right now, we are in such a good place in terms of chemistry, confidence and work ethic.

"I don't know if we can go to Saint Leo and win Wednesday, but I am sure of one thing: my guys don't want to stop playing. I said the other day that we wish the season had another month to go because we are just now starting to figure it out, and we're playing about as well as we possibly can. Give all the credit to the leadership of Harrison Goodrick and Chris Page and Jonathan Back (Jr., Carlisle, Ohio), and give a lot of credit to the rest of the team for the way they are working, improving, and stepping up."
 
Besides Page, Goodrick and Huffine, Pendergast had 13 points and five rebounds, while Troy Spears (So., Martinsville, Ind.) scored 11. BJ Edwards (So., Fort Myers, Fla.) came off the bench to score seven points in eight minutes, making both of his field goal attempts and all three of his free throws, and Dwayne Gibson (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind.) rounded out the scoring with six, making each of his shots from the field as well, while adding three rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
 
"Harrison Goodrick proved once again why we think he is the best center in the league," said Tuell. "He just dominated the game inside. Chris Page was sensational in the second half. He moved the ball, got guys involved, ran our team like a senior leader, and stepped up to make big shots and game-winning free throws when we needed him. I am so proud of how far he has come this year. 

"But, we don't win without the huge performances we got from guys like Nick Pendergast, Pat Huffine, Troy Spears, BJ Edwards, Austin Marciniak (Fr., Uniontown, Ohio), MIke Chalas (Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Jordan Stookey (So., Warsaw, Ind.). The guys who go into game are focused and listening and working hard. I am just so proud to be the coach of this team."

Zablotny hit six 3-pointers and had a game-high 27, while Travis had four 3's and 20 points.
 
The Sharks shot 55.1 percent from the field, making 10-of-20 from long range, and outrebounded FSC in total 47-21. NSU was also 26-of-33 as a team from the free throw line for 78.8 percent, and was even better in the second half (18-of-22 for 81.8 percent). It was the first win in Lakeland for the Sharks since January of 2007.
 
As the No. 5 seed, NSU earns the right to face No. 4 Saint Leo (18-10, 10-6 SSC) at their Marion Bowman Center this upcoming Wednesday. Game time is 7 p.m. in the SSC Championships quarterfinal round.

"Our record doesn't do these guys justice," said Tuell. "We never got down on ourselves or stopped believing in one another. We never paid attention to the won-loss record. We just kept grinding to get better. I don't think many people appreciate what this team has accomplished this year, but I do. I hope our guys get to keep going, because we just keep getting better and better."