MELBOURNE, Fla. – Keyed by a lights-out offensive performance in the first half, No. 10 Nova Southeastern erased a two-game losing streak by defeating Florida Tech by a final score of 95-81 on the road Saturday. The Sharks shot 71.4 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, and withstood the Panthers' comeback attempt down the stretch to reach the 20-win mark for the second straight season. Mark Matthews tallied a team-high 23 points in the effort, while Mikkel Kolstad added 22 of his own on 6-of-7 from beyond the arc.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: No. 10 Nova Southeastern 95, Florida Tech 81
Records: No. 10 Nova Southeastern (20-4, 14-4 SSC), Florida Tech (11-16, 5-14 SSC)
Location: Charles & Ruth Clemente Center | Melbourne, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_MBasketball | Instagram - @NSU_MBasketball

HOW IT HAPPENED:
1^st Half | Just what the doctor ordered, the Sharks came out firing on all cylinders Saturday, hitting each of their first five field goal attempts to collect an early 12-5 advantage. The margin remained seven with 13:35 left after Kolstad drilled his second three-pointer in as many tries. NSU built its lead to 28-19 following an RJ Sunahara feed in transition to Matthews, and would extend it to double digits for the first time in the ball game on another Matthews fast-break finish. As part of 13-0 run, Kolstad canned his fourth triple of the half, as the cushion eventually stretched to 41-22 with 7:44 to play. The lead soon hit 20 after Shane Hunter converted a Lukas Speidel full-court pass for an easy two. Taking advantage of their 15 free throw attempts in the first half, the Panthers trimmed the margin back to 15. A three from the top of the key by Nick Smith would slow their momentum, however, before a late steal and finish by Jake Maranville in the final seconds sent the Sharks into the break up by a commanding 61-41 margin.

2^nd Half | On NSU's opening possession of the second half, Maranville found Sunahara for a wide open slam to make it a 22-point contest. Florida Tech would respond, though, by ripping off eight unanswered over a span of just 1:01 to hang around down 65-50. The advantage ballooned back to 76-55 thanks to two of Matthews' 11 second-half points. The Sharks would keep their distance in front by 18 following a Sunahara jumper, yet would be stuck on 78 points for nearly the next four minutes as Florida Tech pulled to within a dozen still with 7:43 on the clock. A Sesan Russell narrowed NSU's lead further before it was cut all the way down to 84-76 on a Jalen Hodges three-point play. Less than a minute later, and the score unchanged, Matthews split 1-of-2 at the line, yet a crucial steal off the ensuing miss resulted in a four-point swing after Kolstad connected once again from beyond the arc. With the ball game all but over with 34 seconds remaining, Kolstad added once more for good measure, providing the proverbial dagger to secure the much-needed victory.

UP NEXT:
The Sharks will return to the court next Wednesday for their regular season, home finale against Barry. Prior to tip-off, NSU will recognize its four seniors in Kolstad, Matthews, Carl Alenfall and Connor Zinaich. For complete coverage of the action, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball.