This ending never gets old. Never. It doesn’t matter how many times you see it happen in March Madness, or what the level the competition is, or even how often the Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team has celebrated something big in recent years.
The happiest cliché in sport is the final-second win. When Ryker Cisarik got a fingertip on the opponent’s final shot, when Tyler Eberhart grabbed the loose rebound in the final seconds of the Division II NCAA Tournament championship game, Nova Southeastern did something more than win its second title in three years.
The country’s top-scoring college team won with defense in beating Cal State Dominguez Hills 74-73.
It won by getting the exact stop on the final possession on this court in Evansville, Indiana, that it didn’t in losing the championship game a year ago.
“One shot,’’ as coach Jim Crutchfield said in explaining the emotional gulf of difference between winning and losing this game.
If you’re a general basketball fan, one who casually stumbled onto Nova Southeastern winning the Division II championship for the second time in three years and were introduced to Crutchfield’s tactics — it was a shock to your normal-sports-fan system
He is a one-of-a-kind, re-think-the-sport, don’t-follow-the-formula-of-the-day coach whose team attacks for 60 minutes in a manner that wears out opponents. Well, it typically wears out opponents. That’s why Nova had the largest margin of victory (26 points) and highest scoring average (102.5 points) in college basketball this season.
It didn’t wear out Dominguez Hills. It didn’t help that the Sharks’ 3-point radar was off.
“When you’re 3 of 21, you’ve got to find a way to win,’’ Crutchfield said.
They found their way by Dallas Graziani holding everything together and the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, MJ Iraldi, scoring 27 points. They found their way despite being down 71-70 with 1:19 left after two Cisarik free throws. They had to find their way again when Dominguez Hills took the lead right back.
On the CBS broadcast, the question was whether Crutchfield would take a time out with 52 seconds left to set up a play. That’s how basketball is played normally in these big-stakes games. But what, are you kidding? That’s not how Crutchfield does it in his high-speed game.
Graziani drove and was fouled. He was part of the Sharks’ championship team two years ago, transferred to Division I Samford and then returned to Nova this year. He was coming home in a way, the Pembroke Pines kid back to his roots.
“The style fits me here,’’ he said.
He made both foul shots. He waved the offense to run up the court.
Call a timeout? What? Are you kidding? Crutchfield was waving them to run. Graziani drove and was fouled. He made both shots for the 72-71 lead.
But Dominguez Hills made a shot right back for the lead. Twelve lead changes. Eight ties. It was that kind of game.
“We had to dig deep,’’ Crutchfield said.
Iraldi was fouled on a rebound with 17.8 seconds left. He, too, made both free throws, and Nova led 74-73.
“Last year’s team was one shot away from winning a national championship,’’ Crutchfield said.
That stuck with Crutchfield for the past year, to the point last week he said, “I still think about that shot.”
He won’t have to think about this game’s final shot that way. When Eberhart got the rebound, he flung the ball high in the air, and the celebration began. Division II isn’t the NBA. But it says something that Crutchfield’s program has the NBA watching it.
“He’s built a program that’s greatness ...
