Miami Dade falls short against Daytona

In a thrilling contest that saw both teams leave everything on the court, the Miami Dade Sharks were edged out by the Daytona State  Falcons, 88-84. Despite a valiant effort from the Sharks, the Falcons' resilience and bench contributions proved to be the deciding factors in a tightly contested matchup. The Sharks now stand at 11-6 overall and 2-1 in conference play, while Daytona State improves to 15-2 and 3-0.

Miami Dade came out with intensity, trading early buckets with Daytona State. Senior forward Hassan Belkhaddar led the charge with a stellar performance, finishing the night with 20 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Guards Jamaal Morris and Ernesto Rodriguez kept the offense rolling, with Morris dishing out 10 assists and Rodriguez providing a huge spark off the bench, draining five three-pointers on his way to a team-high 20 points.

Despite shooting a solid 46.8% from the field and 44.1% from three, the Sharks faced a tough Falcons squad that controlled the boards, outrebounding Miami Dade 43-31.

Trailing by five at halftime, the Sharks turned up the heat in the second half. Rodriguez found his rhythm from beyond the arc, while Belkhaddar and Faheim Saintleger Meran worked hard to close the gap. Miami Dade outscored the Falcons 46-45 in the final 20 minutes but couldn't quite overcome Daytona State's balanced attack.

The Falcons leaned on reserve guard Huascar Cuevas, who led all scorers with 24 points, including clutch free throws in the game's closing moments. Daytona State also received key contributions from Dylan Diaz, who added 16 points off the bench.