MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – No. 4 Nova Southeastern faced its first halftime deficit of the season Friday, yet responded in a big way to pick up an eventual 98-85 victory on the road at No. 15 Barry, remaining perfect in the process at 11-0 heading into the New Year. The Sharks trailed 46-39 at halftime. The final 20 minutes were a different story, however, as Sekou Sylla registered 24 of his season-high 35 points after the break, while the NSU defense put the clamps down, limiting the nation's No. 2 scoring offense to a measly 23.5 percent shooting from the field.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: No. 4 Nova Southeastern 98, No. 15 Barry 85
Records: No. 4 Nova Southeastern (11-0, 5-0 SSC), No. 15 Barry (8-2, 2-2 SSC)
Location: Health & Sports Center | Miami Shores, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_MBasketball | Instagram - @NSU_MBasketball

HOW IT HAPPENED:
1^st Half | Outrebounded by nine and held to 35 percent shooting, the Sharks struggled in the opening half of their first game since Dec. 19. Both sides traded buckets in the early going, as NSU managed a slim 10-8 edge following a Sylla one-handed dunk on a bounce pass from Eddie Puisis. Barry converted an inbounds play to make it a 17-12 contest in favor of the Bucs at the 12:28 mark. The Sharks opened just 5-of-21 from the field, and 0-of-9 from beyond the arc, before Kobe Rodgers connected from the wing to trim the margin back to two with 10:56 remaining. Dallas Graziani hit from deep to knot the score at 28-28, yet the Bucs would respond with a 10-0 spurt in a span of 1:28 until RJ Sunahara killed the run with a three-point play with a little less than four minutes to go. The Sharks would pick up buckets from both Sylla and Nick Smith in the final two minutes, but would still enter the locker room trailing 46-39.

2^nd Half | Sparked by Sylla, NSU found an instant jolt to begin the second half, rattling off eight unanswered points to grab their first lead since 14:14 to play in the first half. The junior from Brooklyn scored a quick six for the Sharks out of the break before Lukas Speidel finished on a driving hook to push NSU in front 47-46. Sylla put the Sharks back up once again, 56-54, thanks to a left-handed finish in traffic. A Rodgers steal and lay-in with 11:57 left in the contest extended the margin four, with Sunahara soon capping an 8-0 run with a jumper that handed NSU a 65-57 cushion. Better on-ball pressure and close-outs on jump shots forced more stops for the Sharks in the second half, which allowed them to stretch the advantage to double-digits when Speidel drained a three in front of the NSU bench with a little under five minutes to play. Maintaining that double-digit lead, a Sunahara throw-down in transition would add the exclamation point on the feel-good, road win over the nation's 15^th-ranked team.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Friday marked just the second road contest of the season for the Sharks, and first since beating Eckerd on Dec. 4.
• The Sharks are now the first team to reach five wins in Sunshine State Conference play.
• Sylla has topped 30-plus points in two straight games, running his SSC-leading average to 24.0 points per game.

STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• After shooting just 35.0 percent in the first half, NSU hot 60.6 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes.
• The Sharks turned 21 Barry turnovers into 20 points. Barry earned just one point off 14 NSU turnovers.
• NSU did a much better job on the glass in the second half. Outrebounded 29-20 in the first, the Sharks won the battle of the boards 24-17 after the break,
• Sunahara finished the night with 17 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
• Speidel collected 13 points in just 18 minutes off the bench.

UP NEXT:
The Sharks will face their second Top-25 opponent in as many games when they meet No. 18 Embry-Riddle at home this Sunday, Jan. 2 at 4 pm. For complete coverage of the action, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball.