Box Score BOX SCORE

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (8-4, 1-2 SSC) had its five-game win streak snapped Saturday at the NSU Arena in the Don Taft University Center, as the Sharks fell to the No. 16 Florida Southern Mocs (10-2, 3-1 SSC) 78-68.

Brian Cahill (So., Arlington, Va.) led the Sharks in scoring Saturday, collecting 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting. Iran Hollis (Sr., Hollywood, Fla.) had 14 points and a team-best 12 rebounds, one shy of a career-high. Sean Mullan (Sr., Mangerton, Australia) also scored 14 points, 11 of which came in the second half.

The Sharks looked strong at the start of the game and worked their way towards a six-point lead with 12:46 remaining in the first half. However, it was all Florida Southern from there until the break. The Mocs went on a 21-1 run over the course of five minutes to put the Sharks in a whole they would never get out of. The Sharks would enter halftime down, 41-26.

The deficit only grew at the start of the second half, with Florida Southern’s largest lead coming at 19 points with 15:17 remaining. With the home team’s backs against the wall, Hollis gave the Sharks’ a lift with a 3-pointer from the right wing. The Sharks would slowly chip away at the Mocs’ lead, bringing the score to 56-64 with 5:47 left.

Mullan hit his biggest bucket of the night on a 3-pointer that cut his team’s deficit to five points with 3:51 left. However, five points was as close as the Sharks could get to Florida Southern. The Sharks would commit two costly turnovers down the stretch, both of which were converted into points for the road team. The Mocs shot 6-for-7 at the stripe in the final minute to close the game out.

“Florida Southern is a tough team to play and a bad matchup for us,” said head coach Gary Tuell. “They are the most athletic team in the league, they full-court press all game and we didn’t handle it well.”

The Florida Southern defense, which causes 21 turnovers per game, forced the Sharks to cough up the ball 18 times. The Mocs only committed eight turnovers in the contest and just barely outshot the Sharks, 43 percent to 40 percent.

Stian Berg (So., Baerum, Norway) scored 10 points in the contest, six of which were at the foul line. The Sharks’ top-four scorers scored 55 of 68 points on the night.

The Sharks will return to the road Wednesday to take on Rollins in Winter Park, Fla. at 7:30 p.m. The game will broadcast live on 640 Sports.

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