FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – St. Thomas (Fla.) hung around until about midway through the opening half, and then in the blink of an eye, Nova Southeastern picked up a full head of steam and rolled right on through the Bobcats en route to an eventual 115-90 rout Tuesday night at the Rick Case Arena. Freshman
Malik Hardy poured in a season-high 28 points in just 18 minutes to go along with
David Dennis' 20 points and five steals, while the Sharks starting unit received some well-deserved rest heading into the Thanksgiving break.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 115, St. Thomas (Fla.) 90
Records: Nova Southeastern (4-0), St. Thomas (Fla.) (3-3)
Location: The Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1
st Half | A bit of a sloppy start for the Sharks enabled the Bobcats to grasp a 17-16 edge at the 12:16 mark of the first half. However, the one-point cushion would prove to be the last lead of the night for the visitors as Nova Southeastern turned up the defense and reeled off the next 14 points to capture complete momentum. Hardy contributed eight of his 17 first-half points during the run before a
Gerard Tarin slam extended the margin to 43-29 with 7:09 left before halftime. St. Thomas' Antoine Joe put forth his best effort to keep the Bobcats within striking distance, tallying 15 points in the opening 20 minutes, but the Sharks relentless attack just kept on coming. Already in front by 20 in the final moments of the first half, Nova Southeastern blitzed the Bobcats with four three-point buckets, including a pair from
Troy Spears, to enter the break up by a whopping 72-40 margin.
2
nd Half | Hardy and company kept the pedal to the metal as the freshman converted an impressive four-point play from the corner to grow the cushion to 98-62. Despite the lopsided score, the Sharks' leading scorer still didn't tone down the effort. Just two possessions after the successful four-point trip, Hardy recovered after slamming into the scorer's table on a hustle play to eventually grab the defense rebound. He then pushed the ball up the floor, where he located fellow freshman
Nick Smith waiting in the left corner for yet another triple for the Sharks. On top by nearly 40, Crutchfield finally let off the gas as Nova Southeastern cruised to its fourth win in as many tries.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Hardy's 28 points were the most scored by a Nova Southeastern freshman since Tim Coenraad did so back on January 7, 2006 at Florida Tech.
- Freshman Eddie Puisis recorded his first career bucket on a three-point field goal with 2:13 to play.
- The Sharks have now topped the 100-plus point mark twice in their first four games after failing to do so once throughout the entire 2016-17 season.
STATS OF THE NIGHT:
- The Sharks drained 16-of-35 from beyond the arc, five more than their previous season-high of 11 versus Tampa.
- Only two NSU players registered at least 20 minutes in the victory, while 12 different players made at least one field goal.
- Dennis has now notched five steals in each of the last three contests.
UP NEXT:
NSU will return to action following the Thanksgiving break at home on Nov. 27 against Caldwell. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball or visit the
schedule page on NSUSharks.com.
