PERFECTION! No. 1 Sharks Win First National Championship
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Unfazed. Unbeaten. Perfect. National Champions. All the words you can use to describe the No. 1 Nova Southeastern Sharks Men's Basketball team following NSU's undefeated run to the program's first national title. The Sharks storybook season ended with a 111-101 victory over No. 2 West Liberty on Saturday afternoon from the Ford Center. Nova Southeastern broke the NCAA Division II record for points in the national championship game.
The 2022-23 Men's Basketball national championship is the tenth in the history of Nova Southeastern Athletics.
Will Yoakum and RJ Sunahara earned Co-Most Outstanding Player honors in the tournament and were joined on the All-Tournament team by Dallas Graziani.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Score – No. 1 Nova Southeastern 111 | No. 2 West Liberty 101
Records – No. 1 Nova Southeastern 36-0 | No. 2 West Liberty 33-4
Location – Ford Center | Evansville, Ind.
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COACH'S CORNER – Jim Crutchfield led the Sharks to the program's first NCAA National Championship and has turned NSU into a Division II powerhouse. "It's been a storybook season and perfect ending. To play in the National Championship against West Liberty – where I got my start – is special. This game had a lot of intensity and a lot of emotions, but I'm proud of our team and thrilled to bring a national title back to Nova Southeastern."
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half – In a game that lived up to all the expectations and the storylines leading up to the tip-off, the Sharks got off to an early 6-0 lead to take control of the momentum. RJ Sunahara scored 6-of-8 points to open the game and NSU never gave up the lead. Dallas Graziani and Will Yoakum both knocked down jump shots, giving the Sharks an 18-8 lead. The Hilltoppers did not back down easily, hitting a pair of three-pointers to cut the NSU lead to 18-14. Shortly after WLU rallied, Yoakum and Graziani responded with two consecutive three-pointers. West Liberty cut the Sharks lead to just two points, but Yoakum and Sunahara continued to deny the Hilltoppers rally. At the end of the half, Yoakum buried a deep three-pointer to send the Sharks into the break leading 55-48.
Second Half – Nova Southeastern continued to hold onto momentum in the contest, extending the lead to 60-50 in the first minute following a Graziani three-pointer. Despite West Liberty's best efforts to batter him, Yoakum kept performing at a high-level, scoring 7-of-9 points and extending the Sharks lead to 77-65. After the midway point of the second half, Yoakum converted two free throws and put the score at 86-73. Ryan Davis finished back-to-back tough layups, as Nova Southeastern continued to maintains its lead and put the title in their sights. With under six minutes remaining, Nova Southeastern's lead reached 17-points following a Kobe Rodgers jump shot. The Hilltoppers cut the NSU lead to 106-101, but Rodgers sealed the title for the Sharks by hitting three consecutive free throws. Nova Southeastern won the program's first national championship 111-101 and the celebration ensued.
STATS OF THE NIGHT
Nova Southeastern is the sixth team in NCAA Division II history to finish the season as undefeated National Champions.
The Sharks broke the Division II National Championship record for points in the first half (55) and in the game (111).
Will Yoakum broke the single-season record for points, scoring 727 in his lone season as a Shark.