FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – It was raining both outside and inside Saturday evening in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as No. 5 Nova Southeastern poured in 16-of-24 from beyond the arc on its way to an eventual 109-98 win over Embry-Riddle. Point guard
David Dennis registered a game-high 27 points, including a 3-of-4 effort from deep, while
Mark Matthews continued his recent tear with 26 points and 14 rebounds to go along with a season-high 25 points from sharp-shooter
Mikkel Kolstad. The 100-plus point performance marks the 10
th this season for the Sharks, and extends their current win streak to four games.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 109, Embry-Riddle 98
Records: Nova Southeastern (16-1, 10-1 SSC), Embry-Riddle (9-13, 2-9 SSC)
Location: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_MBasketball | Instagram - @NSU_MBasketball
HOW IT HAPPENED:
1ST HALF | The Sharks were unconscious from three-point land in the first half, hitting a combined 9-of-11 in the opening 20 minutes. However, the defense struggled to find an answer for Embry-Riddle's Nashad Mackey in the early going. The Eagles' forward missed the first meeting between both clubs back on Dec. 1, but made his presence felt Saturday, tallying 10 straight for the visitors over a 2:18 span to give them a 16-12 advantage. Luckily, the Sharks were able to keep pace thanks to some hot shooting by Kolstad. The junior connected on all four of his three-point attempts in the first half, including two on back-to-back possessions, to give Nova Southeastern a 32-29 lead at the 7:16 mark. A lay-up by Alston Jones pushed the Eagles back in front, 37-36, with 4:14 remaining, yet that'd be their last lead of the half as the Sharks closed on an 11-2 run to enter the locker room up 50-41.
2ND HALF | Trading buckets inside with Embry-Riddle's Luka Majstorovic, Matthews put back his own miss to keep Nova Southeastern up 61-54 at the first media timeout of the second half. Three's by Dennis and
Eddie Puisis stretched the margin to nine. Still, despite the continued hot shooting, the Eagles answered the call with consecutive treys by CJ Henagan to pull back to within 76-70 with 11:12 left in regulation. After collecting a long rebound, Dennis found
Dwayne Gibson for a deep three, handing the Sharks their first double-digit cushion of the night at 81-70. The margin trimmed back to six with just over eight minutes to play. However, nothing could slow Nova Southeastern on the offensive end Saturday, as Dennis ripped off 11 points as part of a 14-2 run to put the contest out of reach.
UP NEXT:
The Sharks will open up a tough, two-game stretch on the road at Barry next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. NSU beat the Buccaneers 103-93 in the season's first meeting back on Nov. 28. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball or visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.
