BOCA RATON, Fla. – The blood, sweat and tears poured out in every direction Wednesday night in hope of sending head coach Gary Tuell out a winner in the final game of his 13-year stint at Nova Southeastern. A key rough patch midway through the second half proved to be the difference, however, as the Sharks came up on the short end of a 72-68 defeat in their regular season finale at Lynn.
With the amount of effort and grit on display, the Sharks appeared in control and destined towards victory after grabbing a seven-point cushion after halftime. The Fighting Knights' pressure gave the Sharks just enough fits, though, and allowed the home team to flip the script down the stretch in an emotional effort.
"We had that little stretch where we made four or five turnovers," said Tuell. "If we could've avoided that stretch then we probably would've won the game. It's been that way this season for us."
Senior Harrison Goodrick finished the night with a team-high 18 points as his Nova Southeastern career also came to a close. Troy Spears added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Dwayne Gibson chipped in with 12 points of his own.
Following a quick offensive start for Lynn, the Sharks settled in nicely and were able to knot the score at 19-19 thanks to a two-handed, baseline flush from freshman Carl Alenfall.
The margin remained even at 29-29 until Lynn reeled of the next seven points to grab its largest lead of the first half. Yet, with the crowd getting involved, Nova Southeastern responded back with five straight points to enter the break down just 36-34.
A Spears trey from the wing put the Sharks in front 39-36 just over a minute into the second half before it soon ballooned to 47-40 following a pair of free throws by Goodrick.
Sensing the ball game getting out of hand, though, Lynn switched to its full-court pressure defense and was able to force its way back square at 55-55 with an alley-oop at the 6:52 mark.
From there, the Knights watched their advantage grow to five late in the ball game. Goodrick drilled a deep three with 6.7 seconds to keep the Sharks alive, but one last trip to the free throw line sealed the deal for Lynn on its Senior Night.
Five players reached double-figures for Lynn in the contest, including Juwan Frazier, who provided 16 points off the bench and a crucial spark for a Knights' club still battling for a spot in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament.
After Spears fouled out with 5:49 to play, he and Tuell shared an elongated hug on the sideline – proof of the genuine bond Tuell and his players shared both on and off the court.
"It was a tough moment for us," Tuell said when asked about the exchange with Spears. "It's probably what I'll remember most from this game. I'm going to miss these guys. If we can get healthy, I think there's enough talent and leadership here to be a factor next year. Hopefully they'll play their tails off like they did for me."
NSU concludes the season with an overall record of 6-20 and 3-15 in league play.
