It was a moment five years in the making: The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team didn’t just beat Florida Southern to become four-time Sunshine State Conference champs on Saturday afternoon.
After 81 games at the Shark Tank, they’ve now broken the Division II record for most home wins in a row.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” said NSU guard Dallas Graziani. “After we won, one of the guys was like ‘Oh, we broke the streak too!’ But it’s a great feeling, we had a great crowd here.”
A Pembroke Pines native and birthday boy, Graziani got to share the special moment with his family right by his side.
“It’s awesome. I’ve got so much family and friends up there,” he said. “I love it.”
It was far from an easy win for the Sharks, getting past a 12-point, first-half deficit. They’d go on a run that helped them take a seven-point lead at the half, capped off by tournament MVP MJ Iraldi’s three at the buzzer.
A game that would make just about anyone nervous, including NSU Head Coach Jim Crutchfield’s wife Diana, who traveled from West Virginia.
“I was in the fetal position,” Diana Crutchfield admitted. “It’s not an easy thing to watch when you’re a wife.”
“We’ve been there before,” Jim Crutchfield explained. “I think our guys know it’s a 40-minute game. We just kind of keep coming and I don’t want to be down 10 and 12 but I sure wasn’t panicked. I’ve got a lot of confidence in our players.”
So what’s next, you ask? Well, it’ll soon be time to dance — Nova is hoping to redeem themselves and bring home a national championship.
“I’m not going to lie, I’ve got another net I want to cut down — I’ve got two more nets I want to cut down,” said NSU Forward Ryker Cisarik. “So this one, yes, this feels really nice, feels really cool but there’s bigger goals in mind.”
