FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men's basketball team will continue its Sunshine State Conference slate as it travels to face Palm Beach Atlantic in the "Battle of the Fish" in West Palm Beach, Florida on Wednesday night.
 
The Sharks erased a 15-point deficit to pull within one in the final moments against Florida Southern this past weekend, but were upended at the buzzer as the Moccasins outlasted head coach Gary Tuell's club for the 73-71 win. Troy Spears led the way for the Sharks with 17 points to go along with Dwayne Gibson's 16 points and eight rebounds – his fourth straight contest scoring in double figures.
 
Following the devastating, last-second loss, the Sharks (5-14, 2-10 SSC) have now dropped four straight contests and eight of their last nine. The Sharks, however, already have a sound victory under their belts against Palm Beach Atlantic (9-10, 5-7 SSC) this season, not to mention the Sailfish enter Wednesday having lost six of eight games following an 80-72 defeat to Rollins.
 
Four players reached double figures for Palm Beach Atlantic despite the setback versus the Tars, paced by Malek Barber's 18 points and nine rebounds. Bakari Warthen followed Barber with 13 points, while Dakota Zinser and Milos Kostic each tallied 12 points apiece.
 
The quartet combined for just 24 points, though, as Nova Southeastern cruised to a 76-60 triumph over the Sailfish in the year's first meeting back in mid-November. The Sharks' defense limited PBA to 35.6 percent shooting from the field and 20.8 percent from beyond the arc, well below its shooting average of 45.3 percent overall this season. Meanwhile, NSU's offense torched the Sailfish by converting 57.4 percent of its attempts from the floor, receiving a game-high 18 points from Harrison Goodrick and 16 points from Nikita Orap in 19 minutes off the bench.

A win Wednesday will be key for the Sharks to remain in the hunt for a spot in the SSC Tournament, currently trailing Florida Tech by 2.5 games in for the final position in the tourney race.  

David Halberstam will have the call live from Rubin Arena. For complete coverage of the action, log onto NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball.