Men's Basketball Falls to #1 Sharks in Sweet 16

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A tough battle in a sea of white inside the Rick Case Arena as the underdogs, Florida Southern College, was unable to overcome the top-ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks in the NCAA 'Sweet 16'. The Sharks won the South Region Championship for the third straight year with a 98-66 final.
 
Florida Southern closes the 2023-24 season with a 23-10 record, the Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year (Mike Donnelly), the Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year (Luke Anderson), the Sunshine State Conference Defensive Player of the Year (Alex Steen), two All-SSC first and second team selections (Anderson and Steen), and two All-SSC Defensive team selections (Steen and Akol Arop) while adding two D2 CCA All-South Region honorees (Anderson and Steen).
 
Luke Anderson, Akol Arop, and Alex Steen all tallied double-figures in the loss while Dominick Denny finished just shy at nine points but added eight assists. Anderson led the Moccasins with 18 points as Arop closed the game with 17. Steen added 10 points with seven blocks and six rebounds. Erickson Bans tallied eight points as Joe Moon IV ended the scoring with four points for Florida Southern.
 
Following the conclusion of the game, Luke Anderson and Akol Arop were selected to the NCAA South Region All-Tournament Team.
 
Nova Southeastern (30-2) saw Trey Doomes come off the bench in the second wave and score a game-high 19 points in 14 minutes of action. He led a trio of players in double-figures as MJ Iraldi finished with 15 and Shane Hunter 14.
 
The opening five minutes of play were tight as both teams shared the lead. Nova Southeastern eventually found its stride and pushed out to an eight-point lead, 23-15, with 12:34 to play. The Moccasins battled to eventually tie it on an Akol Arop three-pointer at 27-all with 8:58 on the clock.
 
The Sharks would claim their first double-digit lead with 5:35 to play on an and-one by Mike Moore (40-29). The Mocs would answer the points by the Sharks but Nova Southeastern would carry a 50-39 lead into the break.
 
Nova Southeastern pushed the lead to 15 points early in the second half but Florida Southern again rallied and cut it to 10 points, three times up to the 15:30 mark on made free throws from Alex Steen and a pair of layups from Joe Moon IV (60-50).
 
Florida Southern would struggle down the stretch and eventually succumb to the Sharks 98-66.
 
All-Tournament Team
Shane Hunter, NSU - MVP
Akol Arop, FSC
MJ Iraldi, NSU
Luke Anderson, FSC
Malcom Whitlow, ERAU
Zawdie Jackson, UWG
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