EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the second consecutive season, the top-ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks Men’s Basketball team will play in the NCAA Division II National Championship. The Sharks won their 20th consecutive game, defeating the sixth-seeded California State – San Bernardino Coyotes 91-77 in the national semifinal on Thursday afternoon at the Ford Center.
Shane Hunter made his presence felt throughout the game, scoring a team-high 24 points, grabbing seven rebounds and adding four blocks in the win. MJ Iraldi contributed 15 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Ryker Cisarik tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, while Trey Doomes scored 12 points off the bench for NSU.
Nova Southeastern is the 20th top-ranked team in NCAA Division II history to reach the national championship game, 12 of 19 have won the national title – including NSU in 2022-23. The championship game will be the 16th match-up of two 30+ win teams.
Records: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 32-2 | No. 20 California State – San Bernardino 27-8
Score: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 91 | No. 20 California State – San Bernardino 77
Location: Ford Center | Evansville, Ind.
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First Half – Shane Hunter and MJ Iraldi combined to score the first six points of the game for Nova Southeastern, giving NSU an early lead over the Yotes. Following a steal by Ryan Walsh, Mike Moore drilled a three-pointer and put Nova Southeastern ahead 17-10 in the first six minutes of the game. Hunter scored six consecutive points for the Sharks, extending the lead to 23-11 over CSUSB. Shortly after, Ryker Cisarik added a three-point bucket and Iraldi followed with a tough finish on an and-one opportunity, putting NSU in front 29-15. Later in the half, CSUSB cut the Nova Southeastern lead to just five, but six consecutive points from Isaiah Fuller gave the Sharks a 47-37 lead. NSU went into the halftime break with a 53-40 advantage over the Yotes.
Second Half – Early in the half, Trey Doomes added a bucket by putting back his own miss, pushing the NSU lead to 59-48. CSUSB responded with a 13-3 run, putting the score at 62-61, but back-to-back buckets from Cisarik and Isaiah Fuller gave the Sharks a 66-61 lead. Midway through the second half, NSU clung to a 68-63 lead. With less than six minutes remaining in the game, Doomes added another clutch bucket for NSU, off an assist from Fuller, pushing the Sharks lead to 76-65 over CSUSB. Doomes, Fuller, and Hunter combined to score 14 of the final 16 points for Nova Southeastern, sending the Sharks to the program’s second consecutive NCAA Division II National Championship game.
Shane Hunter: 24 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, 8-12 FT
MJ Iraldi: 15 points, six assists, five rebounds
Isaiah Fuller: 14 points, four assists, three rebounds
Trey Doomes: 12 points, three rebounds
Ryker Cisarik: 11 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, 2-3 3PT
Head Coach Jim Crutchfield – “We needed to play a great game against a very talented San Bernardino team, and we did just that. This is a really exciting time for our players and our university and we’re looking forward to playing for another national championship.”
The top-ranked Sharks play for their second consecutive NCAA Division II National Championship on Saturday, March 30th, where they will take on the top-seeded Minnesota State – Mankato Mavericks. The game will be broadcasted on CBS at 3 p.m. EDT, check your local listings. To stay up-to-date on NSU Men’s Basketball throughout their championship run, be sure to follow on Instagram & X at NSU_MBasketball.
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