Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team wins SSC tournament, stays undefeated

Undefeated and underrated.

That’s the profile for the NSU Sharks men’s basketball team that won their second straight Sunshine State Conference postseason tournament on Sunday afternoon by defeating sixth-seeded Embry-Riddle, 92-69.

NSU, 30-0 this season and 61-1 over two years, is the top-ranked team in the nation in NCAA Division II. The Sharks will host the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament’s South Region, starting on Saturday, with times and opponents yet to be announced.

Yet, as good as the Sharks have been this season, they got just two players — RJ Sunahara and Will Yoakum — named first- or second-team All-SSC last week.

Not that NSU coach Jim Crutchfield minds.

“I’m not an awards guy,” he said. “I’ve never given an award. We don’t even have team MVP or most improved.

“I’ve had guys make National Player of the Year, but I haven’t put their pictures up on the wall. I’ve put team pictures up.

“We will congratulate players who get media awards, but we only focus on the team and winning our next game.”

Crutchfield did add, however, that if he were in charge of picking the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, he would’ve chosen NSU’s Kobe Rogers. Crutchfield said Jonathan Pierre and Dallas Graziani deserved mention, too.

“Fortunately,” Crutchfield said, “our guys don’t get angry because they are into the team concept.”

On Sunday, NSU kept Embry-Riddle off the scoreboard for the game’s first three minutes. Yet, NSU trailed 12-6 in the opening minutes.

By halftime, however, the Sharks had gathered themselves, leading 39-32 as Graziani hit a three-pointer from the top of the key just before the intermission buzzer.

NSU ran away with the game in the second half as Yoakum scored a game-high 22 points. Sunahara added 16 points, eight rebounds, a game-high five blocks and three assists.

Graziani had 15 points and game-highs in assists (13) and steals (five). Pierre added 17 points.

All four of those players made the all-tournament team, and Yoakum was named MVP.

The Sharks, who were relentless on defense on Sunday but perhaps not as sharp as usual offensively early on, were missing two key guards: Mike Moore (out for year with a foot injury) and Rogers (day to day with a knee injury).

NSU, by virtue of its ranking, will be a target for every opponent in the NCAA Tournament, and the Sharks are aware of the pressure.

“Nobody cares about your record and your ranking,” Sunahara said when asked what he learned about last year’s run NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight. “We got a little too comfortable last season. You can be beat at any point. We have to play our hardest each game.”