North Miami-Dade News

In a rematch of last season's Sweet Sixteen and NCAA South Region Championship, the No.2 Nova Southeastern Sharks took down Embry-Riddle 88-76 in a Sunshine State Conference road matchup. The Sharks were led by a season-high 29 points from guard Will Yoakum, who poured in 11 points at the free-throw stripe in the win.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

Records: No. 2 Nova Southeastern 17-0, 10-0 SSC | No. 23 Embry-Riddle 12-5, 5-5 SSC

Score: No. 2 Nova Southeastern 88, No. 23 Embry-Riddle 76

Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. | ICI Center

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HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half – The Sharks got out to a quick 10-7 lead, with Yoakum and Dallas Graziani both scoring five points in the first five minutes. Nova Southeastern and Embry-Riddle went back and forth, but jumpers by Kobe Rodgers and a layup by Lukas Speidel gave the Sharks a 21-18 lead with just over 8 minutes to go. Yoakum, Rodgers and Graziani scored NSU's next 14 points as Embry-Riddle took the lead, 35-39. A pair of free throws by Speidel and a buzzer-beating three-pointer put the Sharks into halftime trailing 40-41.

Second Half – The Eagles started off the second half strong, going on a 4-0 run and extending its lead to 40-45. From that point, the Sharks went on a 19-5 run and took a 59-50 lead, with the catalyst being three consecutive three-balls from Graziani, Yoakum and RJ Sunahara. Embry-Riddle battled back throughout the second half, but Nova Southeastern held on thanks to runs of 11-1 and 13-8. Yoakum, Rodgers, Sunahara and Tomas Murphy were key contributors in the Sharks holding onto the lead throughout the final 10 minutes, ultimately leading to a Sharks' victory, 88-76.

STATS OF THE NIGHT

· The 12-point victory was the Sharks' slimmest of the season.

· Yoakum is averaging 20.5 points on 53% from the field over his last four games.

· The Sharks shot 13-36 (36%) as a team in the first half but followed that up with 17-34 (50%) in the second.

· NSU edged ERAU 22-7 in second-chance points.

UPCOMING

No. 2 Nova Southeastern takes on Lynn at the Rick Case Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Fla, on Saturday, Jan. 21. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.

Original source can be found here.