No. 1 Nova rolls to win in region opener
The perfect team had the perfect start.
And the finish wasn’t too bad, either.
Nova Southeastern University’s men’s basketball team defeated Savannah State, 113-62, on Saturday night in the opening round of the NCAA Division II South Region.
The host Sharks (29-0) — the No. 1 team in the nation — didn’t allow a point for the game’s first eight-plus minutes.
“Oh my Gosh!” one Savannah State fan yelled. “Score!”
By the time Savannah State (15-14) scored — on an Ayjay Plain layup with 11:45 remaining — the lead had ballooned to 17-0.
Savannah State, which missed its first 16 shots, was never truly in this game. NSU led 54-33 at halftime, and the Sharks got their starters out with 8:13 left in the game and a 91-53 lead.
NSU got a game-high 25 points and a game-high 10 rebounds from Sekou Sylla; 21 points, nine rebounds, a game-high-tying three steals and a game-high two blocks from RJ Sunahara; and 16 points and a gamehigh eight assists from
Nick Smith.
The next test for NSU should be much tougher. The Sharks will play at home on Sunday night at 7:30 against the winner of Saturday’s late game between fourth-seeded
Union (23-8) and fifthseeded Miles (24-4).
With a win there, NSU would host the South Region final on Tuesday night.
NSU’s deepest advance in program history was an Elite Eight run in 2019 under current coach Jim Crutchfield. As of now, the Sharks are two wins from matching that and five from a national title.
Earlier Saturday in another South Region quarterfinal, Barry University lost to AlabamaHuntsville, 106-99.
Barry (20-9) was leading 82-74 with 7:24 left, but Huntsville went on a 10-0 run and never trailed again.
“We didn’t defend well enough,” Barry coach Butch Estes said. “[Huntsville’s CJ Williamson] was a tough matchup.”
Williamson scored a career-high 37 points, making 12 of 17 shots. All his baskets were twopointers, and he made 14 of 15 free throws.
Barry senior Jake Kakar put on a spectacular shooting show in his last collegiate game, scoring a career-high 36 points. He had 30 points with nine minutes left.
Kakar made 12 of 21 shots, including 10-of-16 on three-pointers.
“The ball came out of me well today — I knew what was at stake,” said Kakar, who has a Bachelor’s degree in business. “The basket felt big. I wasn’t really thinking. I was just reacting.”
Barry had led for the entire first half … until Huntsville’s Chaney Johnson tied the score 44-44 on a three-point play with 2:52 left.
Williamson made two straight layups to give Huntsville its first lead of the game at 48-46 with 1:53 remaining before half. Luke Burnett then swished a corner threepointer just before the buzzer to give Huntsville a 53-50 halftime lead.
Barry was led in the first half by Kakar’s 16 points, and the Bucs had a 21-5 edge in bench points. But Barry’s defense failed to contain a Huntsville team that shot a sizzling 60.6 percent from the floor, including 8-for-16 on three-pointers. Barry shot 47.4 percent, including 9-for-20 on threes.