EVANSVILLE, IN. – In as dominant of a performance as the second-ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks have had throughout the 2024-25 season, NSU defeated the No. 5 Washburn Ichabods 94-68 in the NCAA Division II national semifinal and advanced to the national championship for the third consecutive season. Ryker Cisarik led Nova Southeastern with 28 points, going 10-15 from the field, while MJ Iraldi – the NABC and D2 CCA National Player of the Year – added 25 points and nine rebounds. Dallas Graziani tallied his 15th double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and adding 11 assists.
Nova Southeastern improves to 22-3 in the NCAA Division II National Tournament, all under Head Coach Jim Crutchfield, and has won 17-of-18 games since the 2021-22 tournament. The Sharks now have the most wins (35) in NCAA Division II this season and are one win shy of tying the program record (36/2022-23).
Records: No. 2 Nova Southeastern 94 | No. 5 Washburn 68
Score: No. 2 Nova Southeastern 35-1 | No. 5 Washburn 30-4
Location: Ford Center | Evansville, IN.
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First Half – The Ichabods took a 3-2 lead over the Sharks 1:35 into the game, but a three-pointer by Dallas Graziani gave NSU a 5-3 advantage. Ross Reeves knocked down back-to-back three-point attempts, pushing the Nova Southeastern lead to 15-7. Two consecutive buckets from Ryker Cisarik, followed by a three-pointer from MJ Iraldi gave NSU a 27-12 midway through the first half. Graziani added another three-point bucket for Nova Southeastern as the Sharks continued to pull away from the Ichabods. The Sharks went into the break leading 53-29 over Washburn.
Second Half – NSU maintained a sizable lead throughout the second half, as Iraldi and Cisarik each added a three-pointer to push the advantage to 68-42 midway through the final half. Later in the half, Cisarik sparked an 8-2 run with another three-pointer and Ryan Davis added a three-pointer of his own, extending the lead to 79-51 with less than eight minutes remaining. NSU closed out the 94-68 win over Washburn, the largest margin of victory for the Sharks in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in program history.
Ryker Cisarik: 28 points, seven rebounds, 4-6 3PT
MJ Iraldi: 25 points, nine rebounds, 9-19 FG
Dallas Graziani: 18 points, 11 assists (15th double-double)
The Sharks will take on seventh-seeded Cal. State Dominguez Hills, looking for the program’s second NCAA Division II national championship in three seasons. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will be shown on your local CBS channel. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Men’s Basketball, be sure to follow on Instagram & X at NSU_MBasketball.
