DAVIE, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic men's basketball team faced a tough test on Saturday in the form of the defending national champion Nova Southeastern Sharks, the current No. 1-ranked team in the NABC top-25.
PBA (7-2, 2-1 SSC) hoped to continue its historic start to the season. The Sailfish entered the day looking for what could have been one of the biggest wins in program history against the top-ranked Sharks (7-0, 3-0 SSC), who have not lost a game since the spring of 2022. After a tightly contested first half, the Sharks pulled away in the second half. The Sailfish fell on the road to NSU, 112-89.
Grant Ledford led the Sailfish in scoring with 23 points and five rebounds.
Will Lee finished with 14 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Trent McNair played well off the bench. He scored 13 points with three rebounds and two steals.
Marcus Montalvo added 10 points with five assists.
As expected, the tempo of the game moved quickly from the opening tip. NSU came out in its patented full-court press defense, but the Sailfish were ready. PBA held its own against the press throughout the first half. The Sailfish led through the first 10 minutes of action thanks to a hot start by Ledford and some good free throw shooting by Montalvo. Unfortunately for the 'Fish, foul trouble combined with a lack of rebounding allowed the Sharks to build a lead of their own.
NSU worked its way into the bonus at the 11-minute mark in the half, which helped result in 19 free throws for the Sharks, converting 17 of them. Rebounding was another Achilles heel for the Sailfish. NSU outrebounded PBA 25-17, including 11 offensive boards, leading to 15 second-chance points. The Sharks went into halftime leading 54-47. Ledford led the 'Fish with 10 points in the period, followed by Montalvo, scoring seven. The teams shot nearly an identical percentage from the field in the period.
The Sailfish hung with the Sharks through the first 10 minutes of the second half, but some untimely turnovers resulted in some easy buckets for NSU. The pace eventually caught up to PBA, as a 13-4 run by the hosts made it 109-85 down the stretch, and put the game out of reach. NSU extended its lead by getting easy looks in transition, shooting nearly 60 percent from the field.
NSU outshot the Sailfish 51 percent to 40 percent in the game, despite hitting just 4-of-17 3-point attempts. The Sharks won the battle of the boards, 44-37. The difference in the game came down to points off turnovers. NSU scored 28 points off PBA miscues with the Sailfish scoring nine points off of the Shark's mistakes.
The Sailfish compete again next weekend at the ERAU Bahama House Classic. PBA faces off against Shaw to start the tournament on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Daytona Beach.
