Five takeaways as NSU men’s basketball national title repeat bid ends
Whenever the NSU Sharks lose a men’s basketball game, it’s shocking.
It just doesn’t happen often.
Since the 2022-2023 season, the Sharks are 135-6 with four straight Final Four appearances and two NCAA Division II national championships.
That record includes a stunning 91-81 loss to 23rd-ranked Lander (30-5) on Friday night in the national semifinals in Pittsburgh.
The Sharks, ranked No. 1 in the nation, finished their season with a 31-2 record.
Here are five takeaways on the loss:
1. THE COMEBACK
The Sharks trailed 42-27 with 1:10 left in the first half. However, the Sharks battled back to tie the score 58-58 on a pair of Bennett Kayser free throws with 10:52 remaining in the game.
“I told our guys, ‘There’s nothing like a comeback,’” NSU coach Jim Crutchfield said. “I thought we were going to do it.”
Unfortunately for the Sharks, right after that tie score, Lander went on a 9-0 run, and they were never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
“We always think we’re going to win,” Crutchfield said. “Up until the last couple of minutes, I thought we were going to win.”
2. THE POINT GUARD
Dallas Graziani, NSU’s 5-foot-8 point guard, was named a Division II All-American on Tuesday.
On Friday, Graziani’s six-year college career ended as he posted 15 rebounds and a game-high seven assists. However, Graziani wasn’t his typical self as a shooter on Friday, making just 5-of-20 from the floor.
“I’m really grateful,” Graziani said of his college career. “Being an undersized guard, you can say Coach Crutchfield took a chance on me, I guess.
“I’ve had so much fun here and so much success because of (Crutchfield) and my teammates. Aside from this game, I have a lot of great memories.”
3. THE REBOUNDER
Jaxon Nap, NSU’s 6-7 senior forward, had 17 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and three steals.
“The rebounds happened because my teammates boxed out, and the ball came to me,” Nap said. “I have the best teammates in the country.”
4. THE SCORER
Ryan Reeves, who led NSU in scoring this season with a 23.1 average, was held down by Lander.
After scoring 31 points on Wednesday in a quarterfinal win over Black Hills State, Reeves bagged just 16 points against Lander. He made 6-of-22 shots against Lander, including 0-for-2 from deep.
5. THE LEGACY
While Crutchfield was understandably disappointed by the loss, he is proud of his players.
“All we know is effort, and we did that,” Crutchfield said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well (32.6 overall, 2-for-16 on 3-pointers). But Lander made us take tough shots.”
Crutchfield also reflected on the 2025-2026 season that also included another Sunshine State Conference title and a South Region championship.
“We had an incredible year,” Crutchfield said. “When you try to put a finger on why we’ve been successful … We’re not very tall. We’re not the fastest. We shoot the ball OK.
“But we have a lot of gumption. I don’t think anybody tries harder than our guys.”