WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The trio of Mikkel Kolstad, Mark Matthews and Eddie Puisis registered 20-plus points apiece, as No. 5 Nova Southeastern held off a pesky Palm Beach Atlantic team for a 100-95 win in Sunshine State Conference action Wednesday night. The Sailfish kept things interesting throughout, yet timely buckets and a 20-of-24 effort from the free throw line in the second half finally put the game on ice, keeping the Sharks atop the league standings at the halfway point of the SSC schedule.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 100, Palm Beach Atlantic 95
Records: Nova Southeastern (15-1, 9-1 SSC), Palm Beach Atlantic (8-10, 4-6 SSC)
Location: Rubin Arena | West Palm Beach, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1ST HALF | Leading by a bucket in the early going, Puisis stepped right off the bench, and with his first touch of the basketball drilled a trey from the wing to extended the Sharks' advantage to 11-6. A smooth turnaround jumper by Matthews stretched the cushion to 22-16 at the 12:14 mark before a transition lay-in by Pat Huffine increased the edge to eight, forcing Palm Beach Atlantic to call a timeout midway through the half. One of two three's in the opening half by Puisis put the Sharks in front by double-digits for the first time in the ball game. However, the Sailfish battled back with seven unanswered points, and despite shooting 56 percent in the first 20 minutes, Nova Southeastern entered into the locker room with just a slim 45-43 lead.

2ND HALF | Nova Southeastern tallied the first five points of the second half to stretch the margin back out to seven. Unable to pull away, though, the Sharks soon sat knotted up with the Sailfish, 63-63, following a three late in the shot clock by Paxton Wilson. A drive and kick by Huffine set up Puisis for a huge corner three to hand the Sharks the lead right back on the ensuing possession. Moments later, Matthews sunk a midrange jumper before converting an old-fashioned, three-point play, as Nova Southeastern all the sudden found itself back on top by eight with 9:37 left to play. Three's by Kolstad and Huffine on consecutive Shark possessions made it an 11-point contest with just over six minutes showing on the clock. Still, Palm Beach Atlantic managed to whittle the margin back down to four with 1:40 remaining. In need of some breathing room, David Dennis answered the call with an acrobatic scoop shot plus the foul, keeping the Sharks ahead 92-85. From there, Nova Southeastern would connect on a perfect 8-of-8 from the line in the final 37 seconds to finally put the finishing touches on the hard-fought victory.

UP NEXT:
The Sharks will look to add to their three-game win streak when they host Embry-Riddle this Saturday at 4 p.m. Head coach Jim Crutchfield's club knocked off the Eagles 106-87 in the previous meeting back in early December. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball or visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.