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Nova Southeastern University Athletics

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Sunahara Dunk at Barry
84
Winner Nova Southeastern Nova 16-0,10-0 Sunshine State
75
Tampa UT 11-5,6-4 Sunshine State
Winner
Nova Southeastern Nova
16-0,10-0 Sunshine State
84
Final
75
Tampa UT
11-5,6-4 Sunshine State
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Nova Southeastern Nova 43 41 84
Tampa UT 33 42 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

No. 3 NSU Completes Season Sweep of Tampa with 84-75 Win

RJ Sunahara pours in game-high 25 points to lead four Sharks in double figures

TAMPA, Fla. – Led by a game-high 25 points by RJ Sunahara, third-ranked Nova Southeastern used a key 14-1 run midway through the second half to roll to an eventual 84-75 win on the road at Tampa on Saturday. Sunahara picked up the slack for Sunshine State Conference leading scorer Sekou Sylla, who dealt with foul trouble for much of the ball game, while Nick Smith was his usual self, providing 16 points and eight assists, to help the Sharks improve to 16-0 overall and 11-0 in SSC action.  

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: No. 3 Nova Southeastern 84, Tampa 75
Records: No. 3 Nova Southeastern (16-0, 11-0 SSC), Tampa (11-5, 7-4 SSC)
Location: Bob Martinez Athletics Center | Tampa, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_MBasketball | Instagram - @NSU_MBasketball

HOW IT HAPPENED:
1st Half | Smith showed assertiveness scoring the ball early on Saturday, hitting his first two shot attempts to put the Sharks in front 11-5 following a deep three-pointer near the top of the key. Earning a season-high 15 minutes, freshman Jonathan Pierre stepped off the bench and drilled a trey of his own to keep the six-point cushion intact. Back-to-back three's, though, nearing the midway point of the half would hand the Spartans their first lead since the opening minute, climbing on top 22-21. NSU quickly regained a 24-22 edge thanks to an Eddie Puisis trey on the ensuing possession, yet led by just one when Sylla headed to the bench with 7:59 left in the half after picking up his third foul. Still, with the game knotted at 31-31 at the 3:34 mark, the Sharks found another gear to close the half on a 12-2 run. A steal and finish by Smith stretched the margin to seven before an old-fashioned, three-point play by Sunahara in the waning moments sent NSU into the locker room with a 43-33 advantage.

2nd Half | Tampa's Derrick Felder drained a three right in front of his team's bench to cut the margin in half just over three minutes into the second half. A rare three by Sunahara the next time down the floor would quiet the crowd, though, as the NSU forward rattled off eight points in the opening 4:21 to keep the Sharks at arm's length from the Spartans. A driving left-handed finish by Smith pushed the lead back to double digits with 14:55 remaining. The run didn't stop there, either, as Smith later found Sunahara in transition to cap a 14-1 NSU run to stretch the cushion all the way out to 68-49 at the 11:32 mark. The Sharks maintained that 19-point advantage with 6:40 left following a Lukas Speidel pull-up jumper, and would cruise the rest of the way, with Tampa only narrowing the margin to as close as nine in the final seconds.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
  • In completing the regular season sweep of UT, the Sharks won both contests by an average of 10.0 points per game.
  • Sylla and Tampa's Max Jones entered Saturday as the Top-2 scorers in the league, yet were held to just eight and seven points, respectively.
  • This win marks the ninth in a row for the Sharks in the season series, giving them a season sweep in each of Head Coach Jim Crutchfield's four seasons.
  • The Sharks are one of three remaining undefeated teams across all three levels of NCAA Men's Basketball, along with Division II's No. 1 team, Lubbock Christian, and the 8th-ranked team in Division III, University of St. Joseph in Connecticut.
  • With the win, the team also breaks a tie with the 2013-14 women's basketball squad for second-longest winning streak in school history to begin a season, moving into a tie with the 2015 women's tennis team for top mark at 16-0.
  • They are the SSC's first team to start 11-0 in conference play since Tampa in the 2001-02 season.
STATS OF THE NIGHT:
  • Joining both Sunahara and Smith in double figures, Speidel added 15 points and eight rebounds while Puisis chipped in with 14 points and four assists.
  • NSU forced Tampa into 14 turnovers in the first half, and 22 overall for the game.
  • The SSC leader in assists, Smith tallied eight dimes while turning the ball over just once.
UP NEXT:
The Sharks will continue their road stint next Wednesday at Palm Beach Atlantic. NSU defeated the Sailfish 95-78 in the season's first meeting back on Dec. 1. For complete coverage of the action, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball.


 
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