MELBOURNE, Fla. - [PDF Bracket | Championship Central] - Sunshine State Conference Men's Basketball Tournament semifinal match-ups will tip-off on Thursday, March 5th. All tournament semifinals and finals will be hosted by higher seeds and streamed live on the Sunshine State Conference Digital Network.
#1 FSC vs. #5 ERAU - 7:00 PM [Watch Live | Live Stats]
How They Got There:
Down 16 at halftime, Florida Southern came roaring back to defeat #8 Lynn 97-80. Jalyn Hinton and Brett Hanson were first and second in scoring with 33 points and 31 points, respectively (Box). Embry-Riddle traveled to Miami Shores and "upset" #4 Barry 80-64 on Tuesday evening. Nick Heard had a 12-point / 10-rebound double-double in the win, while three other Eagles narrowly missed a double-double (Box).
2019-20:
Tournament History:
Florida Southern: 75-17 record - 24x champion - 4x runner up
Embry-Riddle: 1-0
Tournament Series: First Meeting
NOTES: Florida Southern has won 24 of the 42 SSC Men's Basketball Championships to date (57%). The Moccasins are 78-17 in tournament games (82%) and 24-4 in the title game (86%). Last season FSC won the title as the #3 seed for the third time (1990 & 1991). ERAU reaches the postseason for the first time as an NCAA Division II member.
Players to Watch:
FSC: SSC Player of the Year, Brett Hanson (Sr., G, Manchester, N.H.), ranks third in SSC points/g (21.6), fifth in assists/g (4.6), and seventh in minutes/g (35.0). SSC Defensive Player of the Year, Jalyn Hinton (Jr., F, Boston), is tied atop the league leaderboard in rebounds/g (8.9) and is alone at the top in blocks (89) and blocks/g (3.6). He's also second in FG% (.658).
ERAU: SSC Newcomer of the Year, Romeo Crouch (Jr., G, Titusville, Fla.), sits seventh in league points/g (19.2) while ranking Top-10 in FG% (.492) and 3PT% (.441). Crouch is also first in league steals/g (3.1) and second in assists/g (6.0). Luka Majstorovic (Sr., C, Belgrade, Serbia) ranks third in SSC rebounds/g (8.7), second in blocked shots/g (2.8), and seventh in FG% (.586). Crouch and Majstorovic were recently named First Team All-SSC.
#2 NSU vs. #3 PBA - 7:00 PM [Watch Live | Live Stats]
How They Got There:
Nova Southeastern was relentless on offense during a 115-81 defeat of No. 7 Rollins College in the tournament's opening round. Six sharks scored in double figures, led by Mikkell Kolstad with 23 points (Box). Palm Beach Atlantic followed suit, outpacing No. 6 Saint Leo University 96-69 to stay within 50 miles of home for the semifinals. Darhius Nunn could do little wrong for the Sailfish, scoring a game-high 28 points on 12 of 17 shooting (Box).
2019-20: NSU opened the series with a 103-88 win in Ft. Lauderdale (Jan. 15), but Palm Beach Atlantic answered with a 78-77 victory in West Palm Beach (Feb. 19)
Tournament History:
Nova Southeastern: 7-15 record - 1x runner up
Palm Beach Atlantic: 3-3 record - 1x runner up
Tournament Series: First Meeting
NOTES: Last season marked the first time NSU reached the SSC title game, but the top-seeded Sharks fell to FSC. However, NSU bounced back to win the regional tournament and make it to the NCAA Elite Eight. PBA made its first appearance in the SSC postseason tournament in 2017, where the finished as runner up as the #4 seed. Since them, the Sailfish are 0-2 in the tournament off back-to-back #7 seeds.
Players to Watch:
NSU: Two-time First Team All-SSC selection, Mark Matthews (Sr., F, Bonita Springs, Fla.), is Top-3 in SSC points/g (21.8), field goal % (.618), and assists/g (5.2) while bringing down the eighth-most rebounds/g (7.3). R.J. Sunahara was recently named SSC Freshman of the Year.
PBA: The Sailfish are a balanced scoring and rebounding squad with no player in the Top-10 of either category. All-SSC Newcomer Team selection, Darhius Nunn (Sr., G, Fairmont, W. Va.), has been a workhorse for PBA with 35.3 minutes/g, which is tied for fifth in the league. Nunn leads the league in assists (174) and assists/g (6.2), while also ranking second in steals (61) and steals per game (2.2).
Tournament Information:
The 2020 Sunshine State Conference Women's Basketball Championship semifinals will be Thursday, March 5th, finals tip-off on Sunday, March 8th. Both men's and women's semifinals and finals are sponsored by Jimmy John's and will be hosted at campus sites.
Please contact SSC Assistant Commissioner
Robert Brennecke with any questions or media inquiries.