FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Program records and career highs were falling left and right on Saturday, as No. 2 Nova Southeastern pulled away from Eckerd in the second half en route to an eventual 107-87 victory at home. After draining seven three-pointers on Wednesday, sharpshooter Eddie Puisis rattled off eight more against the Tritons to finish with a career-high 32 points in the effort. Running mate Nick Smith, meanwhile, notched his program-record 100^th consecutive start Saturday before earning another program record with 15 assists to help the Sharks move to 18-0 overall and 13-0 in Sunshine State Conference play.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: No. 2 Nova Southeastern 107, Eckerd 87
Records: No. 2 Nova Southeastern (18-0, 13-0 SSC), Eckerd (3-13, 1-12 SSC)
Location: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
1^st Half | It was a tale of two halves in just the first half alone on Saturday. After trailing 9-7 early on, NSU climbed in front thanks to a 6-0 spurt keyed by an RJ Sunahara triple. Right off the bench, Mike Moore drilled a three on a feed from Smith to stretch the margin to 19-13 before a push ahead by Jonathan Pierre to Puisis for a trey made it a 24-15 contest with 12:04 remaining. A steal on the defensive end created another run out, as Pierre found Shane Hunter for an alley-oop, forcing Eckerd to take timeout. Puisis' third three-pointer of the night just midway through the half built the advantage to 31-15. It was his fifth, though, that capped a 16-2 run, as the Sharks extended the lead to 37-17 at the 7:57 mark. As fun as the first 12:03 went for NSU, the remainder of the half was equally as frustrating, with NSU making just one field goal – a Sekou Sylla dunk – the rest of the way. Eckerd found success via GianFranco Grafals and Daniel Love, who combined for 33 first-half points, and erased the 20-point deficit to pull even at 45-45 with 1:09 left. NSU regained the lead, but needed three late free throws to head into the locker ahead just 48-45.  

2^nd Half | A quick five points less than a minute into the second half handed the Tritons a 50-48 edge. Two of Eckerd's leaders in Grafals and David Swedura would both pick up their fourth fouls in the ensuing moments, though, allowing the Sharks to take advantage. On the receiving end of a kick-out pass from Sylla, Puisis connected on his sixth triple as part of a 9-0 run for the Sharks to gather a 59-52 cushion. The seven-point margin remained intact following a Sylla dunk and a steal and finish by Smith. Two straight three's by Smith would then stretch the lead to 75-64 with 11:47 showing on the clock. The Tritons would hang around, yet Puisis continued to dash their hopes of an upset, hitting his seventh triple to keep NSU comfortably in front 86-75. The seventh sparked an eventual 12-2 run before No. 8 continued it, as the Sharks finally put the game out of reach with about five minutes or so to play.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• With seven games remaining in the regular season, the Sharks hold a 3.5 game cushion atop the SSC standings.
• NSU has now hit the century mark in points six times this season.
• Alongside Lubbock Christian (Texas), NSU is one of two unbeatens left in NCAA Division II.
• In the Sharks' two contests this week, Puisis shot a combined 15-of-23 from beyond the arc.

STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• Both Smith and Sylla registered double-doubles in the win. Sylla added a "quiet" 26 points to go along with 10 boards, while Smith tallied 18 points with his 15 assists.
• Smith finished without a single turnover in his 40 minutes of game action.
• Sunahara shot an efficient 7-of-9 from the field en route to a 19-point performance. He also recorded a pair of blocks on the defensive end.
• The Sharks shot 60.3 percent from the field in the victory, including 12-of-22 from deep.
• Grafals and Love combined for 57 points for the Tritons.

UP NEXT:
In a matchup between the league's Top-2 teams, the Sharks will host No. 22 Barry next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. NSU used a huge second half to beat the Buccaneers 98-85 in the season's first meeting back on Dec. 31. For complete coverage of the action, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball.