MELBOURNE, Fla. – Heading into Saturday, there was one team head coach Jim Crutchfield had yet to beat in his two seasons within the Sunshine State Conference – not anymore. Despite shooting a season-low 37.5 percent from the field, No. 5 Nova Southeastern was able to rely on its defense Saturday night to eventually run away with an 82-62 victory on the road at Florida Tech. The Sharks turned 27 Panther turnovers into 35 points, while also receiving a huge boost off the bench from junior Mikkel Kolstad, who poured in a season-high 22 points in 24 minutes of action.   

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 82, Florida Tech 62
Records: Nova Southeastern (12-0, 6-0 SSC), Florida Tech (7-6, 1-4 SSC)
Location: Clemente Center | Melbourne, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1ST HALF | The Sharks raced out to a quick 7-0 advantage in the first 2:45 of the ball game following a Nick Smith lay-in. Kolstad's first of six treys kept the margin at seven at the 12:08 mark before the lead grew to 21-10 on a made free throw by Mark Matthews. A 4:51 span without a field goal allowed Florida Tech to hang around. The Sharks' defense picked up the slack, though, and limited the Panthers to just two made field goals over the final 5:57 of the half, taking a favorable 34-21 cushion into the locker room.

2ND HALF | A corner three by Smith on the opening possession of the second half stretched the lead to 16, yet Florida Tech managed to whittle the margin back to down to eight after Derek Murphy connected from the foul line for one of his game-high 28 points. Another timely triple from Smith near the top of the key grew the advantage back to 13. Once again, though, the Panthers responded, pulling within as close as seven with exactly eight minutes to play. The lead hovered around the 10-point mark until Nova Southeastern ripped off 10 unanswered points, including six from Kolstad, to gather some much-needed breathing room with under four minutes remaining. Still comfortably in front in the final minutes, the Bergen, Norway native hit one more from beyond the arc for good measure, putting the final touches on the 12^th win in a row for the Sharks.  

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Matthews registered his third double-double of the season, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
• David Dennis pulled down 10 boards in the effort, his most since collecting a season-high 12 against Florida National on Nov. 17, 2018.
• Smith reached double-figures in scoring for the fourth time this season, while coming away with a season-high five steals on the defensive end.
• Despite sticking heavily to a seven-man rotation, the Sharks bench still outscored Florida Tech's by a healthy 35-13 margin.
• The Sharks held Florida Tech to a measly 21 points in the first half, including 0-of-11 shooting from deep.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• The 27 forced turnovers were the most by Nova Southeastern against a conference opponent this season.
• Saturday's win erased a previous four-game losing streak to the Panthers.

 
UP NEXT:
The Sharks will return to the Rick Case Arena next Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against Eckerd. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball or visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.