640 SPORTS | LIVE STATS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (6-3, 0-1 SSC) will look to continue its strong play through Sunshine State Conference play, as the Sharks travel to St. Petersburg, Fla. to face the Eckerd Tritons (6-2, 0-1 SSC) Saturday at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcasted live on 640 Sports.
Although the Sharks opened SSC play on Dec. 11, the Sharks will begin the heart of conference season, with games scheduled every week on Saturday afternoon and Wednesday evening. NSU will get no easy outs in the always-tough SSC, and this year’s schedule is front loaded with the best the conference has to offer.
“We open conference play against the four teams (Saint Leo, Eckerd, Florida Southern and Rollins) picked in the preseason as the top-four teams in our league,” said head coach
Gary Tuell. “So I guess we find out early how close or how far we are from the cream of the league. Three of those four come on the road, so that just makes the challenge more difficult. Of course we opened with Saint Leo back in December and we were not very good at all. But we have gone 4-1 since that loss and we beat a couple of pretty good teams in (No. 7) Southern Indiana and Benedict. Hopefully our schedule has helped prepare us for the league."
The pre-conference schedule is one of the most difficult in team history and designed to prepare the Sharks for this brutal upcoming league stretch. However, the Sharks have responded well to the challenge. At 6-3, the Sharks have defeated a nationally top-10 ranked team in Southern Indiana, the 2011 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champions in Benedict, and a St. Thomas team that had already defeated Florida Southern and Barry.
“We have a long, long way to go in the season but I do like the way our guys are improving,” stated Tuell. “Our chemistry is excellent and our guys are developing confidence and a competitive spirit that has helped us win some close games. The most important thing right now is that we keep learning and growing as a team and don't let the results alter our work ethic or our confidence.”
As the Sharks have grown as a team, they have also evolved. Last season, current seniors
Iran Hollis (Hollywood, Fla.) and
Lukas Roesch (Sugar Grove, Ohio) split time and shared a similar role. However, Tuell’s offensive system in 2012-13 has allowed the two players to flourish together.
Hollis has become the team’s dominant low-post threat, which was displayed in his 13-point second half to lead the Sharks to a 63-59 win over Benedict. He also scored a career-high 30 points in an 87-85 win over Goldey-Beacom. On the year, Hollis has shot 61 percent from inside the arc and has made 20 of 22 free throw attempts.
Roesch has evolved as a 3-point threat and a dominant offensive rebounder. Roesch is currently on pace to shoot 40 percent on a career-high 90 attempts from downtown, and is 13 offensive boards away from his career-high as well. This has allowed Roesch to lead the team in scoring at a career-best 12.7 points per game. The two have combined to open the floor for the Sharks’ slew of guards, who have shot over 40 percent from the floor combined.
The Sharks will have their hands full on Saturday, as Eckerd enters conference season as one of the biggest and most experienced teams in the league.
"Eckerd has more depth, more experience, more size and more athleticism than us, but we can say that almost every game so we're used to the underdog role,” said Tuell. “Besides, after seeing Bellarmine, Southern Indiana, Charleston, Benedict and Saint Leo, I don't think our guys will be fazed by anyone we see. But certainly this Eckerd team belongs with those teams we've played.
"In Alex Bodney, Woody Taylor and Ryan Snodgrass, they have three of the most experienced and talented guards in our league. And they have a couple of freshmen guards who are very explosive and talented. Darien Mack is one of the best players in our league and has been a personal favorite of mine since high school. They have some big bodies inside and will undoubtedly pound us pretty good in the paint. It will be a good learning experience for us.”
Fans can listen to the game live on 640 Sports. The game will also be available via live stats
HERE. Follow the Sharks on Twitter at
www.Twitter.com/NSUSharks.
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