FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 1 Nova Southeastern Men's Basketball team, the top-seed in the NCAA National Tournament, advanced to the second-round of the NCAA South Region Tournament on Saturday evening, defeating eighth-seeded Miles 97-55. The Sharks were led by 22 points from Sunshine State Conference and D2CCA South Region Player of the Year, RJ Sunahara (58% FG) and 18 points from SSC Newcomer of the Year Will Yoakum (64/50/75) in the NCAA Tournament victory.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Score: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 97, No. 8 Miles 55
Records: Nova Southeastern (31-0, 20-0 SSC) | Miles (23-7, 15-5 SIAC)
Location: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half – The opening minutes of the NCAA South Regional were prolific, with Miles hitting a pair of three-pointers and RJ Sunahara scoring four consecutive points for NSU. The Sharks had back-to-back highlight plays that made the crowd erupt, with Will Yoakum denying a Golden Bear at the rim that was followed by a poster dunk from Sunahara. After a flashy pass from Dallas Graziani, Yoakum drained a three-pointer that put NSU up 16-8 with just over 14 minutes remaining. After missing the last six games with a knee injury, Kobe Rodgers instantly made an impact in his return, scoring on consecutive possessions. NSU extended its early lead to 32-24 over the Golden Bears, as Yoakum recorded 6-of-9 points. As the clock winded down, Pierre hit a pair of three-pointers from the top of the key that brought the crowd to its feet, before the Sharks went into the halftime break with a 53-31 lead.
 
Second Half – The Sharks carried the momentum into the second half, going on an 11-2 run that was led by six points from Yoakum. Layups from Graziani, Jake Maranville and Rodgers extended NSU's lead to 66-3. Pierre made another highlight play after stealing an inbound pass and hitting a contested three-pointer on the left wing. A three-pointer from Tomas Murphy, a hook-shot from Alex Mangold, a catch-and-shoot three-ball from Maranville and a contested layup from Tommy Sala put an exclamation point on a 97-55 for Nova Southeastern over Miles.
 
STATS OF THE NIGHT

• Five Sharks reached double-figures in the victory: Sunahara (22), Yoakum (18), Pierre (15), Rodgers (13) and Maranville (10).
• Sunahara scored 18 points in the first half alone, an increase from his 15 PPG over the last five games.
• Graziani is averaging nine assists during the postseason for NSU.
• Yoakum has scored at least 18 points in the last nine games.

 
UPCOMING
The top-ranked Sharks take on fifth-seed West Georgia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 12 at the Shark Tank. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.