NSU men’s basketball survives thriller to secure second national title in three years
The Sharks are national champs – again.
MJ Iraldi made the tying and go-ahead free throws with 17.8 seconds left, and Nova Southeastern University’s defense held up on the game’s final shot as the Sharks defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills, 74-73, on Saturday afternoon in Evansville, Indiana.
The game was televised nationally by CBS.
NSU’s men’s basketball team has now won two national titles in the past three years under coach Jim Crutchfield.
The Sharks finished second last year.
NSU (36-1) also tied a program record for most single-season wins, set previously in 2023.
Dominguez Hills (30-6) had knocked off second-seeded West Liberty in the NCAA quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Dallas Baptist in the semifinals. The seventh-seeded Toros won in those efforts despite trailing by at least 17 points in each of those games.
But the Toros couldn’t quite get past the top-seeded Sharks.
Here are four takeaways from NSU’s championship:
1. IT WAS A TIGHT GAME
A big factor on Saturday was Toros star guard Jeremy Dent-Smith fouling out with 1:18 left. He finished with a game-high-tying 27 points.
Dent-Smith had made a 3-point play just a bit earlier to give the Toros a 71-68 lead.
NSU fought back, taking a 72-71 lead on two Dallas Graziani free throws with 40 seconds left. Graziani finished with 13 points and a game-high nine assists.
The Toros answered as a mid-range jumper by David Cheatom put them ahead, 73-72.
Iraldi, who was recently named the NCAA Division II National Player of the Year, then drove the lane, got fouled and made his free throws.
He – like Dent-Smith – finished with 27 points. Iraldi was also named the MVP of the Elite Eight tournament.
On the game’s final possession, the Toros did not call timeout. Instead, Cheatom got the ball at the top of the key and tried to drive around two Sharks.
Cheatom took a Euro-step, but his shot was too hard off the backboard. Toros center Adam Afifi had rebounding position for a possible game-winning put-back.
However, Sharks power forward Ryker Cisarik got his hand on the ball, and the Sharks escaped with the heart-thumping victory.
“It’s surreal,” Iraldi said in an on-court interview with CBS. “I knew it would go down to the wire. Cal State is a great team. We just happened to come out on top.”
Added Crutchfield in the post-game interview: “It was a thriller. I’m really happy for our guys. You couldn’t find a nicer group of guys, and I have the pleasure of coaching them.”
2. IS THIS A DYNASTY?
Besides the two national titles over the past three years, the Sharks have other claims to a dynasty.
Earlier this season, they set the all-time Division II record for longest win streak, and that run is still active at 94 consecutive games.
They also have the longest active win streak in the nation, regardless of site, at 23 games.
Looking back, the Sharks are a couple stops short of winning three straight national titles as they lost last year’s final 88-85 to Minnesota State-Mankato.
But while the Sharks gave up the last-second game-winning 3-pointer to Minnesota State-Mankato last year, they came up with the big stop on Saturday.
Also, over the past three years, the Sharks have posted an impressive 104-4 record.
3. THE SHARKS BATTLED
Cisarik is a perfect example of how the Sharks can take a beating without backing down.
In the first half, Cisarik was hit in the mouth, accidentally of course, by an Iraldi elbow. Cisarik hit the deck, checked for blood but remained in the game.
In the second half, it was even worse as a Dominguez Hills player, accidentally of course, kicked Cisarik in the groin.
Again, after a couple of minutes to recover, Cisarik remained in the game.
Plus, there were several other plays where Cisarik ended up on the deck.
“It was a physical game,” Crutchfield said. “Ryker is a go-to guy for us. He has evolved into one of the best players in the country, and I think (the Toros) knew that. They worked hard to be physical with him.”
4. CBS BROADCASTERS IMPRESSED
Rich Waltz, the CBS play-by-play broadcaster, said: “Crutchfield has built a dynasty in South Florida. it’s a great system with great players.”
Mike O’Donnell, the CBS analyst for this game, said Division II basketball has never been better.
He also praised the Sharks, who led the nation in scoring average (102 points per game).
“NSU has not only one of the best offenses in Division II,” O’Donnell said, “they have one of the best offenses I’ve ever seen.”
Graziani, NSU’s fearless 5-foot-8 point guard who was named to the Elite Eight all-tournament game, also got national attention.
O’Donnell compared him to former NBA guard Jose Juan Barea, who years ago emerged out of Miami Christian’s high school program.
At halftime, former Villanova coach Jay Wright – who won two national championships in Division I – also praised Graziani.
Said Wright: “I could never get my point guards to play this many possessions and have only have one turnover (at halftime).”
This story was originally published March 29, 2025 at 6:09 PM.