#3 Nova Too Much for Tars

WINTER PARK, Fla. (January 10, 2024) - Nova Southeastern showed why they are one of the top teams in the country on Wednesday, defeating Rollins by a score of 108-64. With the loss, Rollins now stands at 4-10 (1-6 SSC), while the Sharks improve to 12-1 (6-1 SSC).

Rollins hung around the game early on, keeping it within a couple of possessions on offense. Four of the five Tars' starters scored within the first four minutes of game time, as they trailed by seven at the first media timeout. A couple of makes from Matheus Silveira is all the offense could muster in the next segment of play as they fell behind by twelve at the second break in play. 

The frenetic Sharks' defense forced Rollins into multiple turnovers, and when they did get open looks, they just weren't falling. The highlight of the game for the Tars came around the 5:20 mark when Silveira threw down a monster two-hand slam on a fast break. Still, Nova continued to push the tempo, and they would take a 51-31 lead into the locker room at half. 

The iron was unkind to Rollins in the second half as it took them eight minutes to convert their first field goal from the floor. At that point, the lead had increased to more than 30. 

After clearing the benches with under five minutes to go, the Tars received some quality play from their reserves. Senior River Lenholt knocked down a pair of threes, while transfer Michael Niemann dished out three assists, scored two points, and added a steal while navigating around the Sharks' full-court press. Unfortunately, the Sharks continued their barrage on offense, and would wind up with a 108-64 win. 

Grishaev led the offense with 14 points and nine rebounds. Alex Mangold was the high-scorer for the game with 19 on behalf of the Sharks. 

Next up for Rollins is a home game against Tampa on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 pm from Warden Arena on January 13.