FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The three-headed monster of David Dennis, Malik Hardy and Nick Smith put on a show in front of the home crowd at the Rick Case Arena Wednesday night. Smith carried the load in the first half on his way to a career-high 23 points, while Dennis and Hardy provided the second-half daggers as the Sharks eased past Rollins, 90-71, for their fifth consecutive win. Head coach Jim Crutchfield's club connected on 13 three-point field goals in the effort, including nine after halftime, in a contest in which it was never truly threatened, remaining just one game out of the top spot in the Sunshine State Conference standings.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 90, Rollins 71
Records: Nova Southeastern (17-6, 11-6 SSC), Rollins (14-12, 10-8 SSC)
Location: The Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1^st Half | Rollins tallied the ball game's first five points and would lead 7-5 at the first media timeout. However, the Sharks soon settled in and took over. A pair of treys by Smith jumpstarted an eventual 17-1 run before two Nick Stampley freebies put Nova Southeastern ahead 20-8 midway through the half. Smith's third three of the opening half kept the Sharks in front by double-digits at the 6:32 mark. A late dunk by the Tars narrowed the margin back to within single-digits, yet the Sharks still held onto a 40-31 cushion entering the locker room.

2^nd Half | Back-to-back triples by Hardy and Smith pushed Nova Southeastern's advantage out to 20 less than five minutes into the second half. That lead quickly grew to 58-35 on yet another bucket deep jumper by Smith, however, Rollins would respond with a 12-2 spurt to climb back within 60-47. The power of the three-ball rested in the hands of the Sharks, though, and Hardy soon erased the wind from the Tars' sails. The freshman connected from beyond the arc to stretch the lead back to 16, but wasn't done, and drilled two more on consecutive possessions from the exact same spot to blow the contest wide open once again. Two more from Hardy ran the Sharks' advantage to 78-55 and the rout was on, as Crutchfield emptied the bench with the victory well in hand.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Nova Southeastern has recorded four double-digit victories during its current five-game win streak.
• The Sharks led for 34:58 of Wednesday's contest.

 STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• In addition to topping 20 points, Dennis, Hardy and Smith each registered at least six assists. Both assist totals (six apiece) set career-highs for Hardy and Smith.
• Nova Southeastern dished out 23 assists in the win, their most since recording 24 against St. Thomas (Fla.) back in November.
• Smith poured in his 23 points on just eight field goal attempts.
• The Sharks outrebounded the Tars by a wide 41-27 margin.

UP NEXT:
NSU will look to continue its winning ways on the road against Barry this Saturday at 4 p.m. ET in a matchup between the league's top two programs. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball or visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.