NSU Sharks News
Men's Basketball Drops Regular Season Finale to No. 22 Florida Southern
Hollis scores a game-high 15 points
Lakeland, Fla. (Feb. 28, 2009) The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team had five players reach double-digits in scoring, but the Sharks fell to No. 22 Florida Southern 74-67 on Saturday evening in the regular season finale for both teams at the Jenkins Field House. NSU, who was playing with a primarily young line-up, jumped out to an early 6-0 lead at the 18:34 mark behind two Iran Hollis (Fr., Hollywood, Fla.) layups and a Tim Coenraad (Sr., Brisbane, Australia) jumper. However, Florida Southern fought back, resulting in neither team holding more than a two point lead and five ties over nearly the next nine minutes. The Moccasins eventually used a 7-2 run to go up 23-17 off a Brandon Jenkins layup with 7:18 left in the half.
NSU made it a four-point game with a layup from Dionte Perry (Sr., Lake Worth, Fla.), but a 9-3 Florida Southern run allow the Moccasins to go up 34-24 with 2:38 left. Florida Southern eventually carried a 10-point, 36-26 advantage heading into halftime.
The Sharks came out firing in the second half, going from a 10-point deficit to taking a 39-38 lead off a Coenraad trey with 15:50 to go. After Florida Southern went up 41-39, the Sharks tied it up with two Perry foul shots at 14:47. However, Florida Southern used an 11-3 run to go up 53-44 with 10:12 remaining.
The Moccasins eventually got up to a 14-point lead, but the Sharks battled back, using a 13-4 run to pull to within five. Perry made a foul shot at 5:22 to make it a 63-58 game in favor of Florida Southern. Although the Moccasins built up a quick 10-point lead, NSU sliced it in half as Hollis drained a three-pointer and Dyer had a fast-break layup to make it 68-63 with 2:19 to go.
Florida Southern took two nine point leads in the final 49 seconds, but NSU cut the Moccasins lead down to seven on both times, including a Teddy Tassy (Fr., Boca Raton, Fla.) layup that fell threw at the buzzer.
NSU hit 44.2 percent (23-for-52) of its shots from the field, including a sizzling 62.5 percent in the second half (15-for-24). Florida Southern was 42.6 percent (26-for-61) and had 39 rebounds. The Sharks pulled down 32 boards.
Hollis paced the Sharks with a game-high 15 points and Lemar Dyer (So., Miami, Fla.) chipped in with 13. Perry added 12, while Coenraad and Tassy had 11 and 10, respectively. Perry also had a team-high seven rebounds.
Rob Eldridge scored a team-high 14 points for Florida Southern, while John Thompson had a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double.
NSU opens the 2009 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida Sunshine State Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at the Arena at the Don Taft University Center. The Sharks are seeded third and will face the sixth-seeded team.
