WINTER PARK, Fla. – New year, same result for No. 5 Nova Southeastern, as the Sharks kicked off 2019 by rolling past Rollins by a final score of 92-65 in Winter Park, Fla. on Wednesday night. Head coach Jim Crutchfield's club put on a shooting clinic in this one, most notably in the first half in which it drilled 11 three-pointers to grab an 18-point lead at the break, before cruising to it its 11^th consecutive win on the season. David Dennis paced the offense with his second straight double-double (24 points and 10 assists), while Eddie Puisis set a new career high with 17 points off the bench to go along with 15 more from Connor Zinaich.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 92, Rollins 65
Records: Nova Southeastern (11-0, 5-0 SSC), Rollins (8-5, 2-3 SSC)
Location: Warden Arena | Winter Park, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_MBasketball | Instagram - @NSU_MBasketball
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
1ST HALF | The Nova Southeastern offense came out cooking from the opening tip Wednesday night, draining six of its first seven shot attempts to pull in front 15-8 on a Nick Smith triple less than four minutes into the contest. The Sharks were unable to find much consistency early on with their full-court defense, though, and allowed the Tars to pull back even at 17-17. Rollins remained within one with 12:13 remaining until a pair of three's by Mikkel Kolstad and Puisis sparked a 12-2 run that allowed the Sharks to settle in. The three-point mirage was only beginning, too, as Nova Southeastern's next five field goals all came from beyond the arc, widening the margin to 20 points. Another Kolstad trey helped the Sharks reach the 50-plus point mark in the first half for the seventh game in a row, eventually taking a 54-36 advantage into the locker room.  
 
2ND HALF | Rollins hit its first field goal of the second half to pull within 16. However, the Sharks would show no signs of a letup, as the Tars would fail to get any closer the rest of the way. Holding the Tars to just seven points through the first 6:34 of the second half, Nova Southeastern opened up a 26-point cushion following two Dennis free throws. Puisis connected on his fifth three of the night to extend the margin to 29 midway through the half. Not giving in, the lead grew to 30 on a feed from Zinaich to Kolstad before the icing was officially put on the cake with 2:34 to go following an off-the-backboard pass from Dennis to Zinaich for the two-handed slam.

INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Mark Matthews was one of five Nova Southeastern players to finish with double-figure scoring, adding a game-high eight rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
• Dwayne Gibson set a new career high with eight assists in the win, giving him a combined 15 over the past two ball games.
• As a team, the Sharks tied a season high with 30 assists on 35 made field goals.
• Kolstad needed only five shot attempts to register 11 points Wednesday, connecting on 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. .

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Following his second straight contest with double-digit assists, Dennis has retaken the assists-per-game lead in the Sunshine State Conference (7.1 apg).

UP NEXT:
 
The Sharks will look to improve to 6-0 in Sunshine State Conference play when they head to Melbourne, Fla. on Saturday for a meeting with Florida Tech. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MBasketball or visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.