FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Mark Matthews cleaned up a missed lay-up with 0.5 seconds remaining, as No. 6 Nova Southeastern squeezed out a frenetic 87-85 win over No. 17 Lynn Wednesday night at the Rick Case Arena. Entering the ball game separated by just 0.5 games atop the Sunshine State Conference standings, both teams put on a show in a back-and-forth affair that felt like an NCAA Tournament-type matchup. In fact, the Sharks and Fighting Knights traded leads a total of 26 times throughout the contest, with four of those changes coming in the final 4:04, before head coach
Jim Crutchfield's club managed to pull out its third victory against a ranked opponent already this season. Matthews finished with a 27-point, 10-rebound effort, while
Mikkel Kolstad added 17 points to go along with 15 from
Dwayne Gibson.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 87, Lynn 85
Records: Nova Southeastern (14-1, 8-1 SSC), Lynn (13-2, 6-2 SSC)
Location: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_MBasketball | Instagram - @NSU_MBasketball
HOW IT HAPPENED:
1ST HALF | Kolstad drilled the Sharks' very first shot attempt of the night before they grabbed a quick 5-0 edge in the early moments. Still in front, 8-6, Nova Southeastern caught a break after Lynn leading scorer Michael Baez was forced to the bench after picking up his second foul just three minutes into the contest. However, the move soon proved to hurt the Sharks, as Darius Moore caught fire in a hurry in place of Baez. The 5-foot-11 guard drained his first four shot attempts to give Lynn a one-point lead at the 12:39 mark. Still, the Sharks withstood the hot shooting with a 9-0 run, capped by a Matthews old-fashioned, three-point play, to climb back in front 28-22. An
Eddie Puisis triple handed Nova Southeastern its largest lead of the half at 39-32 until two more three's by Moore quickly trimmed the margin back to one with 3:47 showing on the clock. Another Kolstad trey kept the Sharks up by a bucket with 1:29 left, yet the Knights would tally the final five points of the half to head into the locker room with a 49-46 advantage.
2ND HALF | After the Sharks regained a slim two-point edge with 13:34 remaining, Lynn responded in a hurry with 12 unanswered points over a 3:09 span to grab the largest lead of the night at 68-58. A banked three by Gibson finally snapped the run, and as a result, actually sparked what would be an 11-0 spurt right back for Nova Southeastern, with two
David Dennis free throws putting the Sharks on top 69-68 with 7:18 to go. From there, the lead would switch hands five more times in the next 2:42, as Baez gave the Knights a 77-76 advantage after splitting a pair from the line. Two more Baez freebies stretched the margin to three until back-to-back lay-ups by Matthews pushed the Sharks back ahead, 80-79. No lead was safe in this one, though, as both teams traded makes on the next five possessions to knot the game at 85-85 with just 53 seconds on the clock. In need of a stop, Nova Southeastern forced Lynn's Brandon Bornelus into a running floater that would draw back iron before a Dennis rebound allowed the Sharks to essentially hold for the last shot. Opting out of a timeout, Nova Southeastern cleared the floor for Dennis in the waning seconds. The Sharks' floor general drove hard to the hoop, yet his leaning lay-in missed off the mark. However, Matthews got great position for the offensive board and was able to bank in the game-winner in dramatic fashion.
UP NEXT:
Nova Southeastern will have the weekend off before wrapping up the first half of the SSC schedule next Wednesday at Palm Beach Atlantic. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball or visit the
schedule page on NSUSharks.com.
