FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern players appears to be picking up head coach Jim Crutchfield's system just fine. The Sharks wreaked havoc on the defensive end, forcing Tampa into 26 turnovers, as they breezed their way to a 92-69 Sunshine State Conference win Saturday night at the Rick Case Arena. Malik Hardy led the way offensively with a sneaky 21 points, while fellow freshman Nick Smith recorded his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Following the victory, Nova Southeastern now improves to 3-0 overall for the first time in 18 years.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 92, Tampa 69
Records: Nova Southeastern (3-0, 2-0 SSC), Tampa (2-2, 0-2 SSC)
Location: The Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1^st Half | Tampa jumped out to a slight 9-6 edge in the opening moments on a dunk by Nikola Marijan. However, a Hardy fastbreak lay-in would give the Sharks an 11-9 advantage as they soon gained full control and never looked back. Hardy drained one of his two triples in the win to cap a 14-0 run, putting the home team up 20-9 with 13:41 to play in the first half. Nova Southeastern suffocated Tampa defensively and stretched its cushion to 13 after a Marcel Robinson turnover resulted in a David Dennis three-pointer. The lead hovered around 10 points for much of the half until a pair of three's by Smith in the final minute stretched the Sharks' lead to 52-38 heading into the locker room.

2^nd Half | Continuing its relentless pressure, Nova Southeastern saw its lead balloon to 20 at the 14:52 mark thanks to a Hardy jumper in transition. Tampa looked to cut into the massive margin, yet was limited to just 25 percent shooting from the field in the second half. Smith laid in a feed from Dennis, giving the Sharks their largest lead of the night at 88-60 with 6:12 to go before Crutchfield and company could coast the rest of the way for their first 'W' over the Spartans in four tries.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Through three games, Dennis ranks tops in the SSC in both assists (7.3 apg) and steals per game (3.7 spg).
• Nova Southeastern is currently averaging 98.3 points per game as a team. The Sharks only reached the 90-point mark once a year ago.
• The Sharks have forced their opponents into 23.3 turnovers per game, 3.3 more than second-place Barry for most in the conference.

STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• Nova Southeastern turned 19 Tampa first-half turnovers into 29 points, while limiting the Spartans to just two points off turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
• The Sharks' bench racked up 50 points in the effort.
• Dennis tallied 18 points and seven assists in the win, adding five steals for the second consecutive ball game.
• Tampa's Pat Bacon led all scorers in the game with 25 points, but shot just 5-of-14 from the floor to go along with his seven turnovers.
• Isaac White posted 11 points in just 18 minutes of action.

UP NEXT:
NSU will welcome St. Thomas (Fla.) to the Rick Case Arena this Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball or visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.