FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – With the tall task and the unthinkable at hand, Florida Southern men's basketball traveled to Rick Case Arena Saturday looking to complete the season sweep of No. 2 Nova Southeastern. A tough shooting night on the floor for the Moccasins saw the Sharks even the series and capture the league title for the third year in a row.
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"Tough game," head coach
Mike Donnelly said. "But we just have to move on quickly and get ready to play Rollins. I am looking forward to honoring our seniors on Wednesday night. Senior night is always a special night and I know we will be ready to compete."
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Facing true adversity and playing a tough matchup without key contributors, Florida Southern (20-8, 14-5 SSC) remains in second place in the Sunshine State Conference standings with just one game to go while Embry-Riddle (12-6 SSC) has two games to go and could finish tied for second. No. 2 Nova Southeastern (22-2, 16-2 SSC) captured the title with two games remaining in the regular season.
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D
ominick Denny paced the Moccasins Saturday evening in Fort Lauderdale with 14 points.
Luke Anderson added 12 points, while
Joe Moon IV and
Akol Arop each tallied 11 points. Arop led the team with nine rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
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The Sharks' two waves of players saw Shane Hunter lead all scorers with 19 points, ahead of MJ Iraldi's 17. The bench contributed 41 points led by GianFranco Grafals' 13 points and Trey Doomes' 11.
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Nova Southeastern opened the game quickly with a layup after an offensive rebound, and never looked back. Florida Southern's slow start provided a challenge as the Moccasins had ground to make up on the road in a tough environment. The Mocs battled and kept it a two-possession game and eventually cut it to two points, twice, each on a
Joe Moon IV fastbreak layups, 7-5 and 9-7. Nova Southeastern would turn the pressure on and cruise into the halftime 43-22, despite the ref's discussion for offensive goaltending.
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The Sharks continued to push and extended their advantage to 30, 78-48, with 8:58 to play before going on for the 93-63 win.
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Florida Southern returns home on Wednesday, Feb. 28 to host Rollins at 7:30 p.m. Prior to tip-off, the Moccasins will honors its' senior class as Florida Southern looks to close the regular season and focus on the postseason.
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