Box Score
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men's basketball team (2-6, 0-1 SSC) nearly erased a 20-point deficit but fell short in its Sunshine State Conference opener to the No. 4 Florida Southern Mocs (9-0, 1-0 SSC), 79-73, Saturday at the NSU Arena.
NSU was led by
Stian Berg (Jr., Baerum, Norway), who scored 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting and brought down five rebounds.
Justin Jeangerard (Jr., Weaverville, Calif.) scored 19 points on 5-for-10 shooting and tallied a team-best seven points.
Chris Page (So., Plainfield, Ind.) had 18 points, one short of his career high, five rebounds and three assists.
"Florida Southern was as good as advertised," said head coach
Gary Tuell. "We've now played the number one and number four ranked NCAA Division II schools and there is very little difference between West Liberty and Florida Southern. Both are outstanding teams.
"Southern's defense was physical and tough. They took us out of a lot of things we wanted to do. They are so quick and athletic. They can pressure you so hard and still close the lane down so quickly with their speed and athleticism. It was tough cutting or getting anywhere off the dribble at times. Their defense is outstanding and the scary thing is they're going to get better."
The Sharks started well against the undefeated Mocs, coming out to an 8-3 lead just three minutes into the game. The two teams traded buckets over the first eight minutes of the game, but Florida Southern found its shooting touch and went on an 11-3 run to build a nine-point advantage they would never give up.
NSU trailed, 49-38, after the first half. Florida Southern entered the game shooting 30 percent from 3-point range, but shot 6-for-9 from downtown in the first half and 18-for-32 from the floor. NSU struggled offensively early, shooting 33 percent (11-for-33) over the first 20 minutes. Berg and Page combined for 21 of the Sharks' 38 points in the opening half.
"We were down 11 at halftime mostly because (Dominic) Lane was shooting it so well and our rotations in both our full and half court defenses were slow at times or we failed to rotate altogether and left someone open," stated Tuell.
The Mocs began the second half with an 11-2 run to build their largest lead of the game at 60-40. Although the game seemed out of reach, NSU climbed right back into it down the stretch. With Florida Southern up, 73-55, with 7:59 remaining, NSU went on a 16-2 run that brought the Sharks within four points of the reigning regional champions. Jeangerard hit three-straight treys during the run and Berg hit a free throw with 33 seconds remaining to bring the score to 75-71.
Down four, the Sharks ran out of time and could not finish at the foul line, shooting 0-for-3 after cutting the deficit to four points. Florida Southern's Dominic Lane drained his last four free throws to seal his team's six point win. Lane finished the game with 29 points.
"You have to appreciate Dominic Lane, Southern's great senior guard," said Tuell. "He is vocal, positive, has a great work ethic and is a tremendous leader for that team. On top of that he is a very talented basketball player and more importantly a class person with great character. His leadership drives that team. I'm a big Dominic Lane fan."
NSU shot 22-for-59 in the contest and 13-for-36 from beyond the arc, setting a new program record for 3-point attempts in a game. Six players attempted at least three triples, while Jeangerard and Berg combined for 16 attempts. Florida Southern ended the night shooting 50 percent from the floor (29-for-58) and 53 percent from 3-point range (9-for-17).
"We made some adjustments at halftime that helped us," said Tuell. "We were gassed early in the second half and that allowed them to stretch the lead to 20. But I kept encouraging our guys to dig deep. In the end we outscored them 35-30 in the second half and I think we were the fresher team at the end of the game. We got it down to four or five but missed a couple big free throws.
"Lesser teams might fall behind by 20 to Southern and close shop. But we showed our character. We got some big plays from Justin Jeangerard, Stian Berg and Chris Page. Our defense tightened. We got our second wind and came clawing back the way good teams are supposed to. We are not a great team yet. But we are coming. In our last three games we have beaten an NCAA tournament team by 19, an NCAA DI team by 18 and lost to the nation's fourth-ranked DII team by six. We are improving. We're learning to compete for 40 minutes every night."
Brian Cahill (Jr., Arlington, Va.) had team-bests with four assists, four steals and three blocks. Cahill has had seven blocks over the last two games and tied David Naylor for 10th on the all-time blocked shots list at 41.
Maurice Fuller (Jr., Westfield, Ind.) and
Casey Carroll (So., Youngstown, Ohio) each scored six points.
"Florida Southern deserved to win the game, but I am really proud of our guys," said Tuell. "We didn't play particularly.well. We made a lot of mistakes at both ends of the floor. But we had more offensive rebounds than them, fewer turnovers than them and we were still attacking and pressuring them at the game's end. Not bad for a team that barely goes over six deep and starts five guards. I couldn't be more proud of the way our little guys battled and fought and gave such a great effort. We have a long way to go and a lot of work to do. But I love this team. They have great character and heart. They will bounce back. We'll fix the mistakes. We will learn from this and come back better than ever. We sure fought hard and at times we did some pretty cool things out there against a great team. I think we're going to be all right. There's no quit in our little team. And how nice was it of the fans to recognize their effort and give them a very warm, respectful ovation at the end of the game. That was nice and our kids deserved it. They gave their all."
NSU will take a break for final exams and return during the Cruzin Classic tournament against No. 13 Livingstone on Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. in the NSU Arena.
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