Box Score EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The magical season in which the Nova Southeastern men's basketball team carried an undefeated record with it into the Elite Eight came to a close on Tuesday, as the top-seeded Sharks were stunned by No. 8 seed Black Hills State by a final score of 77-67 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. NSU finishes the year at 31-1 overall.

"I'm still really proud of my team," said NSU head coach Jim Crutchfield. "I feel like they battled until the very end. Not a great shooting day, but maybe Black Hills State had something to do with that. Congratulations to them. I'm proud of our players. Every season ends with a loss unless you win the National Championship, and ours happened to come today."

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Black Hills State 77, Nova Southeastern 67
Records: Black Hills State (26-7), Nova Southeastern (31-1)
Location: Ford Center | Evansville, Ind.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_MBasketball | Instagram - @NSU_MBasketball

HOW IT HAPPENED:
1^st Half | NSU leading scorer Sekou Sylla carried the Sharks in the early going, pouring in eight of the team's first 11 points to propel them to an 11-7 advantage prior to the initial media timeout. The offensive rhythm seemingly disappeared, however, as the Sharks would go scoreless for the next 5:55 until a Nick Smith triple pulled them back to within 19-14. The deficit reached as many as nine in the first half. A notable spark, though, that included a combined three three's off the bench by Shane Hunter and Jonathan Pierre made it a one-possession ball game once again with 4:45 remaining before the break. The lead alternated three times in the final 1:01 of the half before an Eddie Puisis jumper at the buzzer ultimately gave the Sharks the upper hand, 33-32, heading into the locker room.

2^nd Half | A pair of three's by Smith in the opening 2:40 of the second half kept NSU in front 39-37, which is where the margin hung still with 14:29 to go. Another scoring drought, though, soon struck the Sharks as they went a span of 6:49 without a field goal to fall behind by six. Hanging within striking distance throughout the half, Sylla dropped in a lay-up at the 3:58 mark to narrow the gap to 60-58. The margin was three just moments later, yet the momentum shifted drastically when the Sharks failed to score despite four consecutive offensive rebounds before the Yellow Jackets drilled a three on the other end to re-open a six-point lead with under two minutes to play. NSU would miss its next four field goals as well, as reality soon set in on a heartbreaking end to a memorable season.

STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• Smith and Puisis finished with 16 and eight points, respectively, in the final game of their notable careers.
• The Sharks shot just 32.9 percent from the field, including 26.2 percent in the second half.
• NSU was out-rebounded 55-35 in the contest.
• Black Hills State All-American Joel Scott recorded 25 points and 13 boards.

UP NEXT:
NSU will return 11 of its 13 players, including All-Americans Sunahara and Sylla, in 2022-23.  To stay up-to-date with the Sharks, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Instagram and Twitter at @NSU_MBasketball.