FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – In an instant classic with a NCAA tournament atmosphere, the No. 3 Nova Southeastern Sharks Men’s Basketball outlasted the No. 8 Florida Southern Moccasins 117-112 in Sunshine State Conference action at the Rick Case Arena on Wednesday evening. Dallas Graziani took over in the final moments of the game, as the junior recorded his eighth double double of the season (20 points/10 assists), while Tyler Eberhart scored a season-high 26 points and Smokes Cisarik added 22 points and ten rebounds for his fourth double-double of the campaign.
No. 3 Nova Southeastern has now won 72 consecutive games at the Rick Case Arena dating back to February 26th, 2020.
Score: No. 3 Nova Southeastern 117 | No. 8 Florida Southern 112
Records: No. 3 Nova Southeastern 15-1, 7-1 SSC | No. 8 Florida Southern 15-3, 6-2 SSC
Location: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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First Half – The Mocs had the Sharks in unfamiliar territory to begin the clash of the Sunshine State Conference titans, as Florida Southern opened the game on an 11-4 run, quieting the over 1,000 finatics in attendance. Florida Southern took a 20-9 lead over NSU. MJ Iraldi sparked an 11-0 run, which featured a three-point bucket from Ross Reevesfree throws from Alex Mangold and Ryan Davisand was capped by a fast-break lay-up from Tyler Eberharttying the game at 22-22. Four consecutive points from Smokes Cisarik tied the game at 28-28 midway through the opening half. The Sharks were able to take their first lead of the contest, 36-34, with less than eight minutes left, following a lay-up from Mangold. Florida Southern went into halftime 63-57, as the Sharks went into the break facing their largest deficit of the season.
Second Half – Nova Southeastern and Florida Southern exchanged buckets back-and-forth in the opening minutes of the second half, as the score sat at 73-72 following a three-pointer from Alex Sessoms. The Mocs began to pull away from the Sharks, pushing their advantage to 87-76 following a three-pointer from Jadin Booth. Eberhart knocked down a clutch three-pointer for NSU, putting the score at 95-88 with 10 minutes remaining. In the final five minutes of the game, and with the Sharks 71-game winning streak at the Rick Case Arena hanging in the balance, Florida Southern led 107-100, but a 17-5 run over the final minutes sealed the victory for Nova Southeastern. Down the stretch, Graziani contributed on nine points, while also stealing the ball away from Dominick Denny with NSU leading 112-109.
Dallas Graziani: 20 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds (eighth double double of season)
Smokes Cisarik: 22 points, 10 rebounds, 7-11 FG (fourth double double of season)
Tyler Eberhart: 26 points, 9-16 FG
MJ Iraldi: 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists
No. 3 Nova Southeastern travels to Melbourne, Fla., to play Florida Tech in Sunshine State Conference action. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Men’s Basketball, be sure to follow on Instagram & X at NSU_MBasketball.
