DAVIE, Fla. --  An early second half lead had Miles thinking upset Saturday afternoon during the opening round of the NCAA Division II South Region tournament.

Unfortunately, the Golden Bears were unable to finish the job against host Nova Southeastern. A 15-2 run by the top-seeded Sharks gave them the lead for good and a multitude of turnovers by Miles was too much to overcome in an 80-66 defeat at Rick Case Arena. The loss ends Miles' history-making season at 21-9.

Miles went on its own 14-0 run Midway through the first half to grab its first lead, 20-17, with 5:16 left. The teams traded scores for the remainder of the half but a Mikkel Kolstad 3-pointer with 19 seconds left gave Nova Southeastern a 31-30 advantage at the break. 

The Golden Bears came out strong to start the second half. LaByron Harris scored on the first possession to put Miles back in front and Jelani Watson-Gayle drained a 3-ball for a 35-31 lead. The defense held the Sharks without a bucket on their first five shot attempts and the upsetbid was alive and well.

But from there, things fell apart for Miles. Nova went on it's 15-3 run, which was compounded by six Miles turnovers. That was a recurring theme for the Golden Bears, who turned the ball over 26 times, which led to 34 points for the Sharks. That helped NSU become the only team to score 80 this season against Miles (including three exhibitions against Division I schools) and just the third to break 70.

Devonte Fuller had 16 points, nine rebounds and five steals to lead Miles. Watson-Gayle added 12 points and the Golden Bears also got solid contributions from Jose Roman-Angueria (nine points, eight rebounds), Damian Archer (eight points, five assists) and Harris (eight points, six rebounds, two blocks).