DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Behind a career-high 42 points from MJ Iraldi – tied for the second most in a single game in program history – the second-ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks defeated the Embry-Riddle Eagles 103-88 on Wednesday evening at the ICI Center. NSU has now won 11 consecutive games against the Eagles dating back to January 2, 2022 and the Sharks improve to 16-1 against Embry-Riddle under Head Coach Jim Crutchfield.
Records: No. 2 Nova Southeastern 26-1, 18-1 SSC | Embry-Riddle 17-10, 11-8 SSC
Score: No. 2 Nova Southeastern 103 | Embry-Riddle 88
Location: ICI Center | Daytona Beach, Fla.
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First Half – The Sharks were chasing the Eagles for much of the opening half, but an 11-2 run spanning over three minutes of game time gave NSU its first lead in the game at 24-23. MJ Iraldi, Ross Reeves, Ryker Cisarik and Ryan Davis all contributed during the rally for Nova Southeastern. Iraldi continued the momentum for the Sharks, completely taking over the game and scoring seven consecutive points and putting NSU in front 31-26. Both the Sharks and Eagles traded buckets over the final minutes of the first half, as Iraldi closed the frame with 18 points and NSU leading 48-40.
Second Half – Early in the second half, Dallas Graziani and Reeves each knocked down three pointers, which started a 15-2 run opening up the Sharks’ advantage to 68-47 over the Eagles. Embry-Riddle whittled away at the Nova Southeastern, cutting the deficit to 11 points with less than 10 minutes remaining in the half. A pair of three-pointers from Reeves and Iraldi put Nova Southeastern ahead 88-71. Nova Southeastern closed out the 103-88 victory over Embry-Riddle and extended the program’s winning streak to 13 consecutive games.
MJ Iraldi: 42 points (career-high), 18-28 FG, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals
Ross Reeves: 21 points, 7-11 FG, 4-6 3PT
Ryker Cisarik: 19 points, 7-10 FG, nine rebounds
No. 2 Nova Southeastern concludes the 2024-25 regular season on Saturday, March 1st, at the Rick Case Arena against the Rollins Tars. Prior to the game, Nova Southeastern Athletics will honor MJ Iraldi, Tyler Eberhart, Tommy Sala, Ryker Cisarik and Alex Mangold with a senior day ceremony. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Men’s Basketball, be sure to follow on Instagram & X at NSU_MBasketball.
