FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – No. 22 Nova Southeastern turned a tightly-contested ball game into a romp following a 26-3 run to close the first half, eventually coasting to a 99-58 victory over St. Augustine's Saturday night at the Rick Case Arena. Leading scorers
David Dennis and
Mark Matthews once again paced the offense, pouring in 17 points apiece in limited action, while
Pat Huffine chipped in with 11 of his own to carry the Sharks to their third straight win to open the regular season.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 99, Saint Augustine's 58
Records: Nova Southeastern (3-0), Saint Augustine's (2-4)
Location: The Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_MBasketball | Instagram - @NSU_MBasketball
HOW IT HAPPENED:
1
st Half | After trailing by as many as five in the early going, Nova Southeastern grabbed its first lead of the contest at 12-11 following a pair of free throws by Dennis. Still, the Falcons remained within striking distance at the 7:12 mark thanks to a three-point bucket from Donte Edwards. Three straight free throws by
Nick Smith and
Mikkel Kolstad, along with a Matthews lay-up, soon sparked the mammoth run that proved to be a quick knockout punch. Following two more baskets at the rim for Matthews, Smith drilled a deep three to extend the margin to 48-31 with 4:04 to play. Another triple, this time by
Eddie Puisis, stretched the advantage to 20 before five straight points by Dennis put the Sharks comfortably in front 60-33 at the break.
2
nd Half | Huffine kept the run rolling out of halftime with a jumper on the Sharks' first offensive possession. Minutes later, the senior sunk two more field goals to maintain the healthy 29-point lead. On top 72-42 still with 13:34 to go, head coach
Jim Crutchfield decided he'd seen enough and turned to his bench with the game well in hand.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- The 58 points allowed on Saturday were the fewest given up by the Sharks under Crutchfield, besting their season-low mark of 65 points surrendered against Embry-Riddle in 2017-18.
- The Sharks yielded just one field goal make over the final 7:12 of the first half and first 1:53 of the second half.
- Nova Southeastern stuck with the same starting lineup for the third game in a row (Dennis, Dwayne Gibson, Huffine, Matthews, Smith).
- Freshman Kaine McColley recorded his first collegiate points Saturday, tallying eight points on 3-of-6 shooting off the bench.
- Saturday's meeting marked the first ever between the Sharks and Falcons.
STATS OF THE NIGHT:
- Nova Southeastern forced 28 turnovers for the second straight contest, turning them into 41 points on the offensive end.
- Dennis shot 6-of-8 from the floor, while adding eight assists and five steals – both season highs.
- Matthews was an efficient 8-of-10 from the field in the effort, raising his field goal percentage to 57.1 on the year.
- Nine different players made at least one three-pointer in the win, a team-high three coming from Eddie Puisis.
UP NEXT:
Following three consecutive non-conference contests to open the season, the Sharks will now turn their focus to Sunshine State Conference play, as they set to host No. 17 Barry next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball or visit the
schedule page on NSUSharks.com.
