Top-ranked Nova Southeastern wins on last-second shot to advance in South Region final
Kobe Rodgers is fifth on the team in scoring.
But he’s No. 1 in the clutch.
The undefeated and top-ranked Nova Southeastern University men’s basketball team (30-0), which is set to host Tuesday’s 7 p.m. South Region final against third-seeded Embry-Riddle (24-9), is still alive in the NCAA Division II national playoffs due to Rodgers’ heroics.
Trailing 80-79 with three seconds left on Sunday night, NSU Sharks coach Jim Crutchfield drew up a play for Rodgers, a 6-3 freshman from Cincinnati. Rodgers had been guarded by Union’s star guard Tyree Boykin, who is just 6-1.
RJ Sunahara had been NSU’s star scorer in the game with 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting. Thinking that Union would be looking for Sunahara, the play was instead called for Rodgers, who had hit a huge shot earlier this season.
But after Union coach David Niven called timeout, a switch was called. Niven subbed in 6-8 Jeremiah Littlepage and put him on Rodgers.
“They made a smart move,” Crutchfield said of Union. “But we had a timeout left.”
NSU point guard Nick Smith was set to in-bounds the ball, and he was told to use that timeout if the play were covered.
But Smith, Crutchfield said, has “nerves of steel.”
A fifth-year senior from Pittsburgh, Smith said he trusted Rodgers.
“In a close game, we all say: ‘Throw it to Kobe’,” Smith said. “He’s a freshman who doesn’t look like a freshman.”
On Dec. 19, Rodgers saved NSU’s unbeaten season for the first time, banking in a short jumper at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
This time was different as Rodgers made a difficult jump hook in the paint over a taller player with one second left, giving NSU an 81-80 miracle win.
“In the Virginia Union game, Kobe was wide open,” Crutchfield said. “This one wasn’t as easy. He caught the ball in traffic. I’m still not sure how he made that shot. I didn’t know he had that in his repertoire.”
Fourth-seeded Union (24-9) gave NSU quite a battle. Union led by 19 points with 2:42 left in the first half. NSU, though, went on a 9-0 run to cut its deficit to a more manageable 10 points at halftime.
“It was a positive locker room, no yelling,” Crutchfield said of his halftime speech. “I said, ‘We’re going to win, and here’s how it’s going to happen.’ It was analytical. it was about applying pressure.”
NSU took its first lead of the game following a 13-2 second-half run, but Union led 80-79 with 30 seconds left when the Bulldogs shockingly passed up an open layup in order to kill more time.
Boykin was fouled, but he missed the front end of the one-and-one. NSU’s initial chance at a winning play failed as the Sharks fumbled the ball, leading to a tie-up.
“Man,” Union’s Niven said, “I wish the possession arrow was pointing our way.”
It wasn’t.
It was in NSU’s favor as everything has been so far this season.
Crutchfield said NSU would’ve won more easily if not for all the tough shots hit by Boykin, who scored a game-high 30 points.
Instead, NSU had to do it the hard way, which meant: Go to Kobe.
“For them to trust me to make those big shots as a freshman,” Rodgers said of his teammates, “it means the world to me.”
THIS AND THAT
Florida Memorial’s men’s basketball team had its season ended on Friday in a 77-66 loss to fourth-seeded Faulkner in the opening round of the NAIA national playoffs. FMU (17-11) was seeded 13th and made just its third ever appearance in the national tournament.
This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 11:12 AM.