WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Nova Southeastern showed off its own version of a "Big Three" on Wednesday night as guards David Dennis, Dwayne Gibson and Malik Hardy combined for 69 points to propel the Sharks to a 95-89 road win over Palm Beach Atlantic. Hardy poured in a game-high 27 points on an efficient 8-of-10 shooting before head coach Jim Crutchfield's bunch tallied the ball game's final six points – all from the free throw line – for its second straight Sunshine State Conference victory.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 95, Palm Beach Atlantic 89
Records: Nova Southeastern (12-4, 6-4 SSC), Palm Beach Atlantic (10-11, 4-6 SSC)
Location: Rubin Arena | West Palm Beach, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1^st Half | Following five straight Palm Beach Atlantic points to open the ball game, the Sharks quickly quieted the home crowd after Nick Stampley hammered home a two-handed slam to cap a 13-0 run. With Nova Southeastern ahead 20-15 near the midway mark of the half, Dennis showed off his all-around game, turning a left-handed swat on the defensive end into a three-point play on the other to stretch the margin to 23-15. The fourth three of the half by Hardy kept the Sharks in front 38-31. The lead remained 44-38 following a pair of free throws by the freshman, however, a 10-1 spurt over the final 2:12 of the half would give the Sailfish a slight 48-45 edge heading into the locker room.

2^nd Half | Despite falling behind by as many as nine in the early moments, Nova Southeastern recovered and gathered its first lead of the second half at the 11:52 mark when Hardy slashed to the bucket for a strong finish. From there, the lead would change sides four times, including after Dennis drained a corner three to put the Sharks on top 81-80. A baseline drive by Eddie Puisis stretched the advantage to 83-80, although the contest was soon evened up at 89-89 following a Dakota Zinser trey with only 49 seconds remaining. Still tied, Dennis was fouled by Palm Beach Atlantic's Bakari Warthen, who then compounded his mistake with a technical foul, allowing the Sharks to climb back in front with four straight makes from the charity stripe. Following a defensive stop, Stampley sunk two more from the line and then provided an emphatic block with the clock winding down to put the exclamation point yet another key SSC win.    

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Now 6-4 in league play, Nova Southeastern has already doubled its SSC win total from 2016-17.
• Wednesday's victory improves the Sharks' record to 2-4 in contests in which they've trailed at halftime.

STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• Hardy's 27 points marked his most in a single game since recording 32 against Florida Tech on Dec. 9, 2016.
• In just his second career start, Stampley finished with 13 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting to go along with six rebounds.
• The Nova Southeastern offense clicked on all cylinders in the second half, converting 59.3 percent of its shot attempts (16-of-27) and 13-of-15 from the foul line.

UP NEXT:
NSU will take its shot at back-to-back road wins when it travels to Lakeland this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET to face Florida Southern. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball or visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.