FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (January 27, 2009) - After falling behind by 20 points in the first half, a furious rally came up just short for the Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team in Sunshine Stat Conference play vs. No. 13 nationally ranked Florida Southern on Wednesday evening. The 82-75 loss drops the Sharks to 11-7 overall and 4-4 in SSC play while the Moccasins improve to 17-2 overall and 6-2 in SSC play.

"You just can't dig yourself that big of a hole," said NSU head coach Gary Tuell. "This was the first big, big, game for the majority our players and a lot of them just didn't know what to expect. The positive thing is that we were able to regroup at the half give ourselves the opportunity to win. I don't know if we can play any worse than we did tonight. I sure hope not. But I am proud of the guys and the way they hung in there and battled."

Florida Southern, the back-to-back defending SSC Champions, raced out to an early 16-4 advantage just five minutes into play. The Mocs extended their lead to 20 points at 39-19 with 5:10 to go in the half. A three pointer by guard Teddy Tassy (So., Boca Raton, Fla.) cut the deficit to 42-27 at intermission.

The Sharks shot just 27.8 percent (10-36) from the floor, including 25 percent (5-20) from three point range. Florida Southern held a 20-8 edge in points in the paint and shot 52.6 percent (20-38) from the floor.

Junior guard Lemar Dyer (Miami, Fla.) triggered a NSU run with 15:34 left in regulation by making a three pointer to cut FSC's lead to 57-41. A three pointer by freshman guard Brian Cahill (Arlington, Va.) closed to deficit to just three points at 62-59 just three minutes and 20 seconds later. The Mocs recovered to hold the lead and held off the Sharks in the end by the final 82-75 score.

NSU was held to 32.5 percent for the game while Florida Southern finished at 47.8 percent. The Sharks held a 47-46 edge on the boards and committed just nine turnovers for the entire game.

Cahill led all NSU scorers with 13 points and added seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. Junior forward Alex Gynes followed with 12 points and eight rebounds. Freshman forward Luke Roesch (Lancaster, Ohio) was also in double-figures with 10 points and five rebounds.

Rion Rayfield led Florida Southern with 15 points while adding eight assists, six rebounds and two steals.

The Sharks will travel to Saint Leo, Fla. on Saturday, January 30 to play SSC rival Saint Leo University at 4 pm.