LAKELAND, Fla.  - Ross Reeves dropped 24 points and nine rebounds for a near double-double, and Dallas Graziani added 19 points and six assists as #1 Nova Southeastern defeated Florida Southern 92-73 in the regular-season finale on the road. Jaxon Nap added 16 points and nine boards, and Ryan Davis (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Eli Allen (10 points, 10 rebounds) also added double-doubles for the Sharks. 



Score: #1 Nova Southeastern 92 | Florida Southern 73
Records: #1 Nova Southeastern 24-1 (19-1 SSC) | Florida Southern 21-9 (13-7 SSC)
Location: Jenkins Field House | Lakeland, Fla.
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The Mocs grabbed an early 7-3 lead in the first half, thanks to back-to-back baskets from Amare Miller. The Sharks responded with back-to-back baskets from Ryan Davis, drawing within one at the first media timeout of the half. The two teams went back and forth, as Ross Reeves converted an and-one to tie the score at 11. The Sharks began gaining separation as Reeves put them ahead 20-13 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half. The Mocs, however, fought back and eventually went ahead 25-24 on Elijah Walsh's second three-pointer of the half.

Neither team could gain more than a three-point advantage over the next several minutes, and the Mocs tied the score again at 36 on two free throws just before the final media timeout. The Sharks got free throws from Jaxon Nap, Davis, Dallas Graziani and a four-point play from Reeves to close the half, but they still found themselves in a dogfight as they led 49-45 at the break.

Reeves opened the second half with a personal 6-0 run, pushing the Sharks' advantage to 55-45. Amare Miller's jumper sliced the deficit in half, 58-53, but NSU then went on another 8-0 run that culminated with a putback from Bennett Kayser to go up 66-53. The Mocs finally stopped the bleeding with another jumper, but the Sharks later went up 76-60 on an and-one from Nap just after the under-12 media timeout.
 
Florida Southern cut the deficit to 10 points again on another basket from Miller, but a layup from Eli Allen pushed the lead back to 16 points, 84-68, with 7:48 remaining. After Charlie Dalton hit a three for Florida Southern at the 6:03 mark, the Sharks turned up the heat, as they held the Mocs without a point for over five minutes. NSU closed the game on an 8-2 run, as Florida Southern had multiple empty possessions and didn't break the scoring drought until only 54 seconds remained in the game. NSU closed out the 92-73 victory to earn their 24th win of the campaign and secure the Number 1 seed in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament. 



Ross Reeves: 24 points, nine rebounds
Dallas Graziani: 19 points, six assists
Jaxon Nap: 16 points, nine rebounds
Ryan Davis: 15 points, 10 rebounds
Eli Allen: 10 points, 10 rebounds



The Sharks finish the regular season with a 24-1 record and a 19-1 mark in conference play. They will enter the Sunshine State Conference Tournament as the #1 seed and will host 8th-seeded Rollins College in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 3 at 7:30 PM. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Men's Basketball, be sure to follow on Instagram and Twitter/X at NSU_MBasketball.