LAKELAND, Fla. (Feb. 27, 2010) - Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team had four players score in the double-digits, but No. 11 Florida Southern also had four in double figures and the Moccasins defeated NSU 90-82 on Saturday evening.

In the first half, Florida Southern (24-3, 13-3 Sunshine State Conference) got out to several early 15-point leads, including one at 12:25 with a three-pointer from Rion Rayfield that gave the Moccasin a 24-9 lead. NSU (13-14, 6-10 SSC) fought back and eventually came to within eight on two occasions. A layup by Brian Cahill (Fr., Arlington, Va.) at 8:31 made it 29-21 in favor of Florida Southern. Then a minute-and-a-half later, John Brooks (Jr., Perris, Calif.) nailed a three as the Moccasins were up 34-26 with 6:49 to go. However, Florida Southern outscored NSU 16-10 in the final 6:33 as the Moccasins carried a 50-36 lead heading into halftime.

NSU chipped away at the Moccasins lead throughout the second half behind 57.6 percent shooting. The Sharks trailed by nine with 12:23 to go with a Ross Allsop (Jr., Sydney, Australia) layup. Allsop later made a pair of foul shots at 5:23 that made it a five-point 76-71 game in favor of Florida Southern.

The Moccasin quickly regained a nine-point lead with Preston Fredrick hitting a jumper at 5:04 and then a pair of foul shots at 4:45. However, NSU kept fighting back and came to within four points at three different times, but it was not enough as Florida Southern scored its last four points on foul shots in the final 30 seconds.

NSU hit 49.3 percent of its shots, going 34-for-69. Florida Southern was 29-of-62 and shot 46.8 percent. The Moccasins also held a 39-35 edge in rebounds.

Cahill scored a team-high 19 points, which also tied his career-high. He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Teddy Tassy (So. Boca Raton, Fla.) had in 15 points, while Allsop and Luke Roesch (Fr., Sugar Grove, Ohio) tallied 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Rayfield had a game-high 24 points. John Thompson tallied a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double. Brandon Jenkins added in 19 points, while Terry Jenkins had 11.

NSU's (13-14, 6-10 Sunshine State Conference) season continues on Wednesday with the first round of the SSC Tournament. The Sharks will be the sixth seed and will travel to third-seeded Eckerd. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.