Nova Southeastern advances to South Regional, sets Division II record for home winning streak
Record-breakers.
Dominators.
Champions.
All those words apply to the Nova Southeastern University Sharks, who just broke the all-time NCAA Division II record for longest home winning streak with 81 consecutive victories.
Indeed, the Sharks (30-1) defeated the Florida Southern Moccasins 103-89 on Sunday afternoon, winning the Sunshine State Conference postseason tournament for the fourth straight year.
Jefferson (Pennsylvania) had the previous record for longest home winning streak, posting 80 consecutive victories from 1991 to 1995.
NSU, which won the national title in 2023 and finished second last year, had three players honored following Sunday’s game.
Ryker Cisarik, a 6-9 forward, and tireless 5-8 point guard Dallas Graziani were named to the all-tournament team. MJ Iraldi, a 6-6 shooting guard, was named the tournament MVP. Iraldi was also named the conference Player of the Year earlier this month.
“He deserves it,” Cisarik said of Iraldi. “That kid has worked his butt off all summer and then all season. He is National Player of the Year caliber.”
Here are four takeaways regarding NSU basketball:
▪ 1. This wasn’t easy: Florida Southern, ranked 23rd in the nation, led by as many as 12 points in the first half as the Moccasins pursued what would have been a massive upset in the world of Division II basketball.
NSU rallied late in the first half, taking a 52-45 lead into the break.
But the Moccasins (25-8) rallied to tie the score, 61-61, with 14:02 left in the game.
NSU then took the lead for good with 12:56 left as Graziani found Iraldi on a backdoor cut for a three-piont play.
About four minutes later, NSU went on a 7-0 run, taking a 78-70 lead, and Florida Southern never recovered.
“I was probably a little nervous before the game, and that’s a good thing,” NSU coach Jim Crutchfield said. “Once the game starts, I’m never really nervous. Frustrated … but not nervous.
“The one thing about our guys, we have been down 10 points in so many games. I’ve seen us come back so many times that I actually felt like, ‘We’ll come back.’”
And they did.
▪ 2. Sharks’ stars: Iraldi finished the game with a team-high 27 points. He also had nine rebounds and six assists, and he drew seven fouls – more than anyone in the game. He did that by constantly attacking the rim.
Graziani had 23 points and a game-high 11 assists. He was a team-best 4 for 8 on three-pointers. Most of those three-pointers came in clutch moments.
Cisarik had 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
NSU did suffer a scare, however, as Cisarik went down with a sprained left ankle with 11:14 left in the first half.
While he was out, Florida Southern built its biggest lead of the game, 36-24.
After going to the locker room with a team trainer, Cisarik re-entered the game with 8:22 left.
“I think I landed on a foot and my ankle rolled,” Cisarik said. “I was in a lot of pain. I was hoping I’d be all right. It took a second. I tested it out, and it didn’t hurt too bad.”
Cisarik’s return was a positive sign for the Sharks as he finished with a game-high plus-minus rating of plus-28.
▪ 3. Nearly unstoppable: Florida Southern’s Jadin Booth scored a game-high 29 points on 9-for-14 shooting, including 6 of 9 on three-pointers.
He also made 5 of 6 free throws in 33 minutes.
Booth, a 6-2 guard from Omaha, is in his sixth year of college basketball. He played his first two years at a Division I school, the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
“Jadin Booth is a such an incredible player and scorer,” Crutchfield said. “We let him get loose a little bit, and that can’t happen.”
But as good as Booth was on Sunday, NSU held him to just seven points in the second half.
Also, for the game, Booth had a plus/minus rating of minus-6, and he had just two assists and two turnovers.
“Florida Southern is a great team,” Cisarik said. “Every time we’ve played them this season, it’s been a battle. It’s the same thing over and over.”
▪ 4. Up next: The Sharks will find out late Sunday night who they will face in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
But the Sharks, ranked No. 2 in the nation, know for sure that they will host the South Regionals.
The schedule will either be Friday, Saturday and the following Monday … or Saturday, Sunday and the following Tuesday.
It’s not yet known what seven teams will join NSU in Davie for the South Regional, but Alabama-Huntsville, ranked third in the nation, is a lock. The Chargers entered Sunday with a 29-1 record and the longest winning streak in the nation at 29 games.
Ironically, Huntsville lost its opener at home to NSU, which won 105-104 in an overtime thriller.
Florida Southern and Lynn are two schools from within the state likely to make it to Davie next week along with 13th-ranked Valdosta State (Georgia); 21st-ranked Miles (Alabama); and Montevallo (Alabama). The eighth team in the field could be Tampa, but all of that will be determined Sunday night.
“It’ll be a great tournament coming up,” Crutchfield said, “great regional.”
This story was originally published March 9, 2025 at 4:33 PM.