FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic men's basketball team faced a tough challenge in the form of No. 9 Nova Southeastern on the road Wednesday night.
 
The Sailfish were led by a 30-point performance by Dan Largey which kept PBA (11-5, 4-4 Sunshine State Conference) in the game. The 'Fish were competitive for most of the game, but the Shark's Mark Matthews and his 45 points proved too much for PBA as NSU (12-2, 6-2 SSC) bested the 'Fish 103-88.
 
Largey finished the night with seven 3-pointers to go with two rebounds, two assists and a steal. The Sailfish had four players score in double-digits. De'Ondre Jackson scored 14 points, Malek Barber scored 13 points and Darhius Nunn finished with a double-double consisting on 12 points and 13 assists.
 
The hosts outshot PBA, shooting 58 percent to 53 percent from the field. The large discrepancy in the game came down to the battle of the boards where the Sharks held a 37-25 rebounding advantage. PBA stayed hot from beyond the 3-point line shooting 11-for-24 (46 percent) from deep. 
 
NSU did its best to ramp up the tempo, playing full-court defense for most of the game. The Sailfish did a good job break the press, but struggled to turn those opportunities into points early in the game. The Shark offense was operating at a high efficiency in the first period which allowed NSU to take a 20-11 lead through the first nine minutes of play. PBA responded after an and-one dunk by Jules Jasmin kickstarted a small run for the 'Fish, cutting the margin to four.
 
At the seven-minute mark in the first half, the Sharks took control of the game. A 10-2 run by NSU increased its lead to 15. A 3-pointer by Largey kept the deficit from growing out of hand, but the Sailfish went into halftime trailing 46-32.
 
The Sailfish wasted little time cutting into the Shark's lead in the second half. PBA started the period on a 9-2 run to make the score 48-44 NSU. PBA continued to hang around, but the 'Fish lacked the final run they needed to take a lead of their own.
 
Two 3-pointers and a layup extended the Sharks lead to 15 with 10 minutes remaining, but the Sailfish continued to fight. Minutes later, an and-one layup from Casey Carpinello, a layup from Largey and two made free throws from Jackson cut the deficit to five with just over four minutes in regulation. The Sharks answered with an 5-0 run to double their lead. NSU closed out the game at the free throw line leading to the 103-88 loss for the Sailfish.
 
PBA faces another top-25 matchup on Saturday when it travels to No. 11 Florida Southern. The game in Lakeland, Fla. starts at 7:30 p.m.