Box Score FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team (1-1) went toe-to-toe with NCAA Division I Florida Gulf Coast (1-0) Saturday and led for over 16 minutes, but would fall, 63-51, at the Alico Arena.
Brian Cahill (Sr., Arlington, Va.) led the way for NSU, recording team-highs with 14 points and five rebounds. Newcomers
Harrison Goodrick (So., Sydney, Australia) and
Troy Spears (Fr., Martinsville, Ind.) each scored eight points and collected three rebounds.
"Besides the obvious difference in size and athleticism, I thought our real enemy today was fatigue," said head coach Gary Tuell. "When we were fresh, I thought we were the best team on the floor. But as fatigue set in, especially in the second half, their depth and athleticism took over."
It was clear from the start that the Sharks came to Alico Arena for a win. After FGCU knocked down the first 3-pointer of the game, Cahill made a pair of treys to pair with a Goodrick layup to put the Sharks ahead. NSU held their lead for a majority of the first half, shocking the near-capacity arena.
The Sharks would take their first double digit lead on another Cahill 3-pointer, putting the score at 25-15 with 8:28 left before halftime. The sharp-shooting Sharks built their lead by driving to the basket on a team with great size. Up by double digits, the Sharks were shooting over 66 percent inside the arc.
FGCU showed why there was so much preseason hype around the team by climbing back into the game before halftime. The Eagles outscored the Sharks, 16-8, in the final eight minutes, as NSU hit a dry spell. They would retake the lead with 1:08 left in the half at 32-31. A pair of free throws from Spears helped NSU maintain a one-point deficit at halftime, 34-33.
The first half displayed NSU's versatility compared to last season's squad. The Sharks took FGCU's best shot in the first half and stood up, despite the lack of 3-point shooting. Outside Cahill, NSU shot 0-for-10 in the first half from downtown. However, NSU shot 10-for-16 inside the arc and scored 10 second chance points, taking advantage of nearly all of their six offensive rebounds. The Sharks' defense was also key, holding FGCU to 11-for-30 shooting in the first half.
The home team would grow its lead in the second half and increased the intensity on defense. The Sharks scored on a fast break bucket, led by seniors
Justin Jeangerard (Weaverville, Calif.) and
Stian Berg (Baerum, Norway), to retake a one point lead.
Maurice Fuller (Sr., Westfield, Ind.) hit a trey at the 17:57 mark and Cahill followed up with another a minute later to keep pace with FGCU. However, Cahill's 3-pointer was followed up by over six minutes of scoreless basketball. The stretch allowed the Eagles to earn their largest lead to that point at 52-41.
"I took our starters out with about 13 minutes to play, we were down three, because I wanted our young players to get experience playing in pressure situations against good teams on the road," said Tuell. "We need those guys to develop and get better. I think when the starters came back in, their lead went from three to 11. But I think all of our guys played as hard and as well as they could play at this time of the year."
NSU made a final push to eliminate the deficit and held FGCU scoreless for over three minutes. Jeangerard hit a 3-pointer before the defense could set up and Spears followed with a layup to put the Sharks within five points. The Eagles answered back with a three-point play, and from there, three out of four NSU missed field goals were answered with a bucket on the home end. Goodrick scored the Sharks' final score with 26 seconds left, securing the final 63-51 score.
"We had a chance at the end to cut it to four and missed an open 3," reflected Tuell. "Had we made that shot, the last two and a half to three minutes would have been very interesting. I thought our guys really played well. I thought we put on a good show in a hostile arena. I couldn't be more proud of them for that. It showed a lot of promise for the future, but we have a long, long way to go on both ends of the floor. But if we work hard and stay together, we can be a very good team."
NSU struggled shooting overall and ended the night shooting 36.4 percent (20-for-55) from the floor and 24.1 percent from 3-point range (7-for-29). What made this game a battle was the Sharks' effort on the defensive end. NSU was outsized, but still held the Eagles to 24-for-56 shooting. NSU stifled the Eagles from long range, holding them to five 3's on 18 attempts.
"Our defense is improving, but we are just scratching the surface of what we think we can be," stated Tuell. "Thankfully, we don't have any games this week, so we get a chance to work on a lot of mistakes and work on our conditioning. Missed 3-pointers hurt us, but I blame a lot of that on fatigue. You also have to give FGCU credit. I thought they picked up their defensive pressure up in the second half. They played harder and did a better job on the glass. They are a very, very talented team. But I thought we acquitted ourselves well against very good team."
NSU will have a long break before returning to the NSU Arena on Nov. 25 to face future Sunshine State Conference institution Embry-Riddle at 7:30 p.m.
