Second Half Rally lifted #3 Sharks Over the #8 Mocs in Top 10 Showdown

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 8 Florida Southern College men's basketball team could not stop a late rally by No. 3 Nova Southeastern University in a 117-112 loss in the top 10 matchup Wednesday night inside the Rick Case Arena.
 
The Moccasins (15-3, 6-2 SSC) had a dominating first half, scoring 63, but were unable to keep the lead in the final minutes of play. The Sharks (15-1, 7-1 SSC) capitalized on late turnovers and bonus free throws to extend their home win streak to 72 games, snapping the Mocs' 10-game win streak.

"It is a disappointing loss," said head coach Mike Donnelly. "Nova Southeastern is a tough team to play against for a variety of reasons, but I thought we battled incredibly hard tonight. The game was right there for us to win at the end, but we could not overcome a few tough breaks. It was a physical game, but it is frustrating to be out-shot by 19 free throw attempts. It was a great game with both teams playing at a very high level. We will learn from tonight and continue to grow and get better."
 
The highly anticipated matchup featured five players in the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List as Alex Steen and Jadin Booth battled Ryker Cisarik, Dallas Graziani, and MJ Iraldi of NSU, all represented on the watch list announced earlier today. Tonight's game was the first time both teams faced each other while being in the top 10 of the NABC poll since February 15, 2020, when No. 6 FSC beat No. 5 NSU 102-96 in Fort Lauderdale.
 
Despite the loss, the Mocs had a strong night offensively, with another 40-point performance by Booth. The graduate student went 8-for-12 from beyond the arc with four rebounds and six assists. Dominick Denny had a stellar night, finishing with 23 points and 10 assists, his first double-double of the season. An efficient 8-for-10 from the field, Joe Moon IV finished with 19 points, and Peyton Gerald was equally good from the glass with 14 points. Steen wrapped up the starting lineup in double digits and 12 points and six boards, with four blocks. Amare Miller was the sole Moccasin to score off the bench, adding four points, two rebounds, and a block.
 
Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field, with FSC the slight advantage, shooting 55 percent to NSU's 53 percent. Though the Mocs made twice as many 3-pointers (14), the Sharks went 34-of-37 from the free throw line, a key factor in the final minutes of the game. The defensive battle was solely in possession of NSU, who out-rebounded FSC 44-to-27, with 20 second-chance points made by the Sharks.
 
Nova Southeastern was led in scoring by Tyler Eberhart with 26 points, with Cisarik (22p) and Graziani (20p) also with 20+ point nights. Cisarik finished with a double-double, adding 10 boards on the night, as did Graziani, who had 10 assists. Ross Reeves (17p) and Iraldi (13p) were the other two Sharks with double-digit scoring in their conference win.
 
Florida Southern was first to score in the first half off a fast break jumper by Moon and kept the pressure to go up 6-0 in the opening minutes. The Mocs got 10 points from Denny in the first five minutes as FSC pushed out to a 20-9 lead with 14 minutes left in the first half. The Sharks returned the scoring with a streak of their own to tie the game, 22-22, by the next media timeout. Both teams traded scores, though Florida Southern gradually increased its lead in the final minutes to head into halftime with a 63-57 advantage, the most points in a half this season by the Moccasins.
 
Nova Southeastern entered the second half with a strong start, cutting the Florida Southern lead to just one, 65-64, at the 18-minute mark. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Booth led to a comfortable seven-point lead for the Mocs that stayed in FSC's favor for most of the second half. Up by 11 points, 105-94, with six minutes to play, the Sharks went hot, converting on FSC turnovers to tie the game 107-107 with three minutes left. The Mocs struggled to score in the final minutes and with NSU in the bonus, kept the game just outside of reach for the Sharks to win 117-112.
 
The Mocs will remain on the road to face Saint Leo University on Saturday, Jan. 18, set for a 4:30 p.m. start at the Marion Bowman Activities Center.
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