FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – After another heart-breaking loss in the final seconds on Wednesday at Eckerd, Nova Southeastern will look for a bounce-back effort Saturday afternoon when it welcomes No. 7 Barry to the newly named Rick Case Arena.
Earlier this the week, the Sharks suffered their fourth defeat in six games by five points or fewer, this time falling 68-66 at the hands of the Tritons in St. Petersburg, Florida. Eckerd's Trevon Young hit the game-winning lay-up with 3.5 seconds remaining, despite the Sharks limiting the Tritons to just 38.6 percent shooting in the contest. Even in a losing effort,
Gerard Tarin poured in a season-high 25 points, while
Dwayne Gibson,
Nikita Orap and
Troy Spears each scored in double-figures.
Nova Southeastern and Barry met in "The Dungeon" earlier this season on November 30 when the Buccaneers edged out the Sharks down the stretch en route to a narrow 79-73 victory. Leading scorer
Harrison Goodrick tallied a game-high 28 points to go along with 16 from Gibson. Meanwhile, Barry had three players in double-figures, paced by point guard Elvar Fridriksson's 23 points. The Sunshine State Conference's top scorer Adrian Gonzalez added 13 points followed by 11 from Daniel Mortensen.
Saturday's contest figures to be another battle for the Sharks, although Barry suffered just its second loss of the season against Tampa on Wednesday. The nation's leading team in assists was held under its average of 22.9 for the second straight game, and even trailed by as many as 17 points midway through the second half.
A season ago the Sharks played spoiler, defeating then-No. 12 Barry 105-91 the last time both programs met in Fort Lauderdale. Former Shark
Chris Page dropped a career-high, and NSU single-game record 41 points in the effort, while Goodrick finished one assist shy of a triple-double with 30 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.
David Halberstam will have the call live from Rick Case Arena. For complete coverage of the action, log onto
NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball.
