FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern certainly needed to shake off the rust early on in Friday's season opener, but awoke in the second half with 61 points en route to a solid 101-92 victory over Claflin at the Rick Case Arena. Following an 0-for-5 effort in the first half, David Dennis poured in 19 of his 22 points during the final 20 minutes, while Mark Matthews and Mikkel Kolstad combined for 42 points in a pair of impressive debuts for the Shark newcomers.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 101, Claflin 92
Records: Nova Southeastern (1-0), Claflin (0-1)
Location: The Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1^st Half | The Sharks made things tough on themselves in the first half following a lackluster performance on the offensive end. As a team, Nova Southeastern shot just 37.1% from the field to go along with a 10-for-19 effort at the free throw line. Lucky for the Sharks, the defense was able to turn 16 Claflin turnovers into 14 points, keeping them within five points throughout the entire half. Trailing 38-34 with 2:17 to go before the break, Kolstad connected on the first of five three-pointers on the night to pull Nova Southeastern back to within one. A Matthews lay-up less than a minute later gave the Sharks a 39-38 edge. Two late free throws by the Panthers, though, would send both teams into the locker room knotted at 40-40.

2^nd Half | Limited to an uncharacteristic three points at the break, Dennis flipped the switch and sparked the Sharks by scoring nine of their first 11 points of the second half. After Dennis converted a feed from Matthews to put Nova Southeastern back in front 51-50, Kolstad added to the lead with another triple with 16:13 to play. Down by a slight 58-57 margin at the 14:12 mark, the Sharks ripped off a 14-2 run, capped by a Dwayne Gibson trey to finally grab control of the ball game. The margin soon grew to 17, matching the largest of the night, following a three by Eddie Puisis and would only get as close as nine the rest of the way as Nova Southeastern topped the 100-point mark in its season opener for the second consecutive season.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Claflin reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament following a 26-7 record a year ago.
• Pat Huffine earned his eighth career start in Friday's win, registering six points on 2-of-3 shooting.

 STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• After shooting 37.1% in the first half, Nova Southeastern responded by making 55.0% of its attempts in the second.
• Just a sophomore, Puisis set new career highs with nine points and seven rebounds off the bench.
• Kolstad shot an efficient 5-of-7 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line to finish the night with 19 points.
• Dennis and Gibson each dished out six assists to lead the way for the Sharks.
• Dennis, Kolstad and Matthews combined for 48 of Nova Southeastern's 61 points in the second half.  
• The 26 forced turnovers Friday were the most by the Sharks since racking up 29 against St. Thomas (Fla.) on Nov. 21, 2017.

UP NEXT:
NSU will have over a week off before returning to the court at home next Saturday against Florida National. The Sharks defeated the Conquistadors 116-92 in their most recent meeting last November. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball or visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.