FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – For the fourth consecutive season – and fifth time in program history – the No. 2 Nova Southeastern Sharks Men’s Basketball team punched its ticket to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Evansville, IN., with a 76-69 victory over No. 3 Alabama-Huntsville. All five starters for the Sharks scored in double figures, led by MJ Iraldi – the South Region tournament MVP – scoring 19 points and added ten rebounds for his second straight double-double, while Ryker Cisarik scored a team-high 21 points – going 8-11 from the field – with seven rebounds.
NSU improves to 20-3 in the NCAA Tournament under Head Coach Jim Crutchfield
The Sharks extended their NCAA Division II home winning streak record to 84 consecutive games.
Both of the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers losses, in their first and last games of the season, came against the Sharks.
All-Tournament Team
MJ Iraldi, Nova Southeastern – MVP
Ryker Cisarik, Nova Southeastern
Dallas Graziani, Nova Southeastern
Tommy Murr, Alabama-Huntsville
Blake Campbell, Alabama-Huntsville
Records: No. 2 Nova Southeastern 33-1 | No. 3 Alabama-Huntsville 32-2
Score: No. 2 Nova Southeastern 76 | No. 3 Alabama-Huntsville 69
Location: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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First Half – The Sharks seized momentum in the South Region title game from the opening tip and Ryker Cisarik’s fingerprints were all over the game. The forward forced a turnover by Alabama-Huntsville which led to Tyler Eberhart knocking down a three-pointer, before Cisarik and Ross Reeves both added buckets to put NSU ahead 8-0 in the first two minutes. The Sharks extended the lead to 20-8 over the Chargers following a three-pointer from Dallas Graziani and a pair of free throws from MJ Iraldi. NSU used a 7-2 run, pushing the lead to 31-14 over UAH midway through the first half. Alabama-Huntsville closed the gap, cutting the deficit to 40-35 at the break.
Second Half – Early in the second half, Iraldi converted an and-one attempt to give NSU a 45-39 lead. Reeves knocked down back-to-back buckets for NSU, maintaining the Sharks six point lead. Each time the Chargers attempted to cut into the Sharks’ advantage, Nova Southeastern continued to respond with buckets, as midway through the half Eberhart pushed the Sharks lead to 64-55. Late in the half, an emphatic slam by Cisarik gave NSU a 70-65 lead. The Chargers cut the Nova Southeastern to 70-69 with 2:25 remaining. Eberhart responded with a lay-up of his own, essentially sealing the game, before the Sharks clinched the South Region with free throws from Graziani and Cisarik.
Ryker Cisarik: 21 points, 8-11 FG, seven rebounds
MJ Iraldi: 19 points, 10 rebounds
Tyler Eberhart: 16 points, seven rebounds
No. 2 Nova Southeastern advances to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight as the top-overall seed and the upcoming opponent will be released following a re-seeding of the advancing regional championship teams. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Men’s Basketball, be sure to follow on Instagram & X at NSU_MBasketball.
