FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 1 Nova Southeastern Sharks Men’s Basketball team continued its winning ways on Wednesday evening, opening Sunshine State Conference play with their 41st consecutive overall and SSC win, as well as winning the 47th straight contest at the Rick Case Arena, by defeating the Lynn Fighting Knights 99-74.
The victory was Head Coach Jim Crutchfield‘s 500th career victory. The legendary Sharks bench boss holds the highest winning percentage across all levels of NCAA Basketball at 0.859.
Records: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 5-0, 1-0 SSC | Lynn 2-1, 0-1 SSC
Score: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 99 | Lynn 74
Location: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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First Half – The Sharks were all over Lynn from the opening tip-off, forcing a turnover on the Fighting Knights first four possessions and starting the game with the first seven points of the contest. MJ Iraldi scored four consecutive points for NSU, extending the lead to 14-2 in less than three minutes. Ryker Cisarik sparked another run for Nova Southeastern, scoring five consecutive points and putting the score at 19-6. Midway through the opening period, Nova Southeastern maintained a double-digit lead at 27-17. In the waning minutes of the first half, the Sharks went on an 8-0 run, led by six points from GianFranco Grafals and extended the advantage to 41-23. Cisarik knocked down a three-point in the final minute, sending NSU into the halftime break with a 51-33 lead.
Second Half – Grafals made an impact on both sides of the floor to begin the second half, recording a block and following it up with a three-point bucket to put the Sharks ahead 54-33. Nova Southeastern was able to hold the Fighting Knights at bay in the opening minutes, maintaining a 65-50 lead with under 12 minutes remaining in the contest. Iraldi forced a turnover in the half court and finished off a dunk, putting NSU ahead 73-56. Alex Mangold recorded a three-pointer and extended the advantage to 85-62. NSU closed out the program’s 41st consecutive victory, 41st consecutive Sunshine State Conference victory (dating back to the 2021-22 season) and 47th straight home win (dating back to the 2019-20 season) defeating Lynn 99-74.
Shane Hunter: 12 points, 7 blocks, 7 rebounds
GianFranco Grafals: 17 points, 8-12 FT
Isaiah Fuller: 19 points, 1 block, 2 steals
Head Coach Jim Crutchfield – “Tonight is about all the players and assistant coaches I have had along the way. It felt great to get win number five of this season, more than number 500. Lynn has a good basketball team and we had to do several different things tonight.”
The No.1 Nova Southeastern Sharks return to action on Saturday, December 2nd, taking on Sunshine State Conference rival Barry in Miami Shores. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
To stay up-to-date on Sharks Men’s Basketball, be sure to follow on Instagram and X at NSU_MBasketball.
