FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Head coach Gary Tuell and the Nova Southeastern men's basketball team will attempt to return to the win column Saturday afternoon when they welcome a struggling Florida Tech Panther team to Rick Case Arena for a 4 p.m. ET tip-off.
 
The Sharks (5-15, 2-11 SSC) enter the weekend in the midst of a five-game skid, while the Panthers (11-10, 4-8 SSC) are currently dealing with a four-game rough patch of their own. At the moment, both teams are separated by 2.5 games, chasing Lynn for the final spot in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament.
 
Back in early December, the Sharks were defeated by the Panthers in Melbourne, Florida by a 98-90 margin despite winning the rebound battle and receiving double-double efforts from Harrison Goodrick and Gerard Tarin. The league's top scorer at 22.0 points per game, Jordan Majors, paced the Panthers with 26 points in the year's first meeting, while point guard Patrick Anderson added 20 points.
 
Nova Southeastern jumped out to fast 13-3 start against Palm Beach Atlantic its last time out, however remained unable to get over the hump on the road after falling 82-71 to Palm Beach Atlantic. Sophomore Dwayne Gibson registered 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to reach double figures for the fifth consecutive contest. Goodrick and Troy Spears also notched double-digits efforts with 13 and 11 points respectively, but the Sharks were undone in the rebounding department and by their 21 costly miscues.
 
Coming into Saturday, Florida Tech has dropped seven of its previous eight SSC contests, including a 92-87 setback versus Eckerd this past Wednesday. Majors topped the 20-point mark for the 13^th time this season against the Tritons, but the Panthers were unable to overcome sharp-shooter Kevin Walsh's 25-point performance.
 
NSU held off FIT for a 79-77 win the last time both programs met in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
 
David Halberstam will have the call live from courtside at Rick Case Arena. For complete coverage of the action, log onto NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball.