NSU Sharks News

David Naylor Posts Double-Double With 18 Points and 13 Rebounds

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Feb. 25, 2009) - The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team was defeated 72-64 by visiting Florida Tech in action inside the Arena at the Don Taft University Center in play on Wednesday night. The loss drops Nova Southeastern to 15-9 and 9-6 in Sunshine State Conference play while Florida Tech improves to 13-13 and 5-10 SSC.

After five minutes of play, the score was tied at 10 apiece. NSU would tighten up on defense, holding the Panthers without a field goal for the next seven minutes en route to a 13-1 run to lead 23-11. With NSU leading by 16 points with two minutes to play in the first half, Florida Tech point guard brought the Panthers back in the game with back-to-back three pointers. The Sharks led 37-27 at the break.

The Sharks shot 57.7 percent (15-26) in the opening period while Florida Tech shot 38.5 percent. Center David Naylor (Jr., Melbourne, Fla.) led the Sharks in scoring with eight points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. Ballard led Florida Tech with 11 points.

NSU led by 11 points at 48-37with 12:17 still remaining in the second half. A 10-0 run over the next three minutes by the Panthers closed the gap. The Sharks would continue to fend off Florida Tech until the 4:48 mark, when FIT took their first lead of the game since 15:24 of the first half. From that point on, NSU could just muster two field goals as Florida Tech extended their lead to eight points at the final horn.

For the game, NSU out-shot Florida Tech 46.2 percent (24-52) to 41.7 percent (20-48). The big difference in the game came at the charity stripe, as FIT out-scored the Sharks 26-12 at the line, including 23-7 in the second half. NSU did manage to out-rebound its 22nd consecutive opponent at 37-28.

"We got what we earned," said NSU head coach Gary Tuell. "We played the way we practiced and obviously that's not very good. Not to make excuses, but Ross (Allsop) makes a big difference defensively for us. We missed him tonight. That said, our effort the last 22 minutes was embarrassing. The lack of leadership on the floor is shameful and it shows up every time we are tested."

Ryan Ballard led the Florida Tech comeback with 31 points on the night and three assists. He shot 8-18 from the floor, including 5-10 from three-point range. "I give Ballard a lot of credit," Tuell said. "He did a lot for that team."

The Sharks were led by Naylor, who finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, 11 of which were offensive. He also had five assists and two steals. Senior forward Josh Wood (Adelaide, Australia) followed with a 14 point effort.

"We are a really tired basketball team," Tuell concluded. "We need to find a way to get fresh for next Wednesday (the opening round of the SSC Tournament). Obviously, going to Florida Southern this weekend won't help."

Seniors Dionte Perry (Lake Worth, Fla.), Jordan Smith (Alexandria, Ind.), Tim Coenraad (Brisbane, Australia) and Wood were honored before the game as part of the senior day festivities. While this was the last regular season home game for the seniors, they will return to their home court for the opening round of the Sunshine State Conference tournament on Wednesday, March 4th.

NSU will travel to play Florida Southern College at 4:00 pm on Saturday, February 28th in their final regular SSC match-up of the season.

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