SAINT LEO, Fla. - Bennett Kayser dropped a career-high 28 points off the bench and added five rebounds, and the third-ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks routed Saint Leo 126-74 on Wednesday night. Five other Sharks joined Kayser in double figures, and every player that suited up scored. The Sharks staved off an early run from the Lions and earned their eighth straight victory.



Score: #3 Nova Southeastern 126 | Saint Leo 74
Records: #3 Nova Southeastern 14-1 (9-1 SSC) | Saint Leo 6-12 (1-9 SSC)
Location: Marion Bowman Activities Center | Saint Leo, Fla.
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The Sharks started the game with a 9-2 run over the first 1:54, capped by a layup from Ross Reeves. The Lions responded with an 11-2 run of their own, as they hit three consecutive three-pointers and took a 13-12 lead on Matt Ansah's layup at the 15:33 mark. However, the Sharks then blitzed the Lions with a 16-0 run over the next three minutes. The run was started with an Eli Allen three-pointer and then featured buckets from Bobby Rosenberger III, Jamie Qualley, Dallas Graziani, and a layup and three-pointer from Bennett Kayser. The Lions finally stopped the bleeding with two straight three-pointers of their own, but they still trailed 30-19 at the 10:18 mark.

The Sharks took a commanding 43-23 lead after the under-8 media timeout, as the Lions struggled to get the ball into the frontcourt against NSU's pressure. The Sharks kept pouring it on, and they took a 56-26 lead just after the under-4 timeout after Graziani hit another floater. NSU led 65-30 at the break. Kayser's 15 points off the bench paced the first half scoring for the Sharks. 

The Sharks opened the second half with a 7-0 run, featuring a steal and score from Allen, a post score from Nap, and another three-pointer from Allen. Allen's three-pointer put the Sharks up by 42, 72-30, at the 18:41 mark. The Sharks hit the 100-point threshold on Rosenberger III's three-pointer midway through the half, and went up by 50, 111-61, on Kayser's layup with 6:37 remaining. Ryan Walsh provided the last bucket for NSU, and the Sharks took home the 126-74 victory.




Bennett Kayser: 28 points (career-high), five rebounds
Ross Reeves: 17 points, four rebounds, four assists
Eli Allen: 16 points, three steals, three rebounds, three assists
Dallas Graziani: 15 points, six assists, four rebounds
Bobby Rosenberger III: 14 points, six steals (season-high), four rebounds
Jaxon Nap: 12 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals




The Sharks move to 14-1 (9-1 SSC) on the year, and will return home looking to seek vengeance against Palm Beach Atlantic on January 24 at 4:00 PM. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Men's Basketball, be sure to follow on Instagram and Twitter/X at NSU_MBasketball.