MJ Iraldi rallies Nova Southeastern past Cal State Dominguez Hills 74-73 in Division II title game
MJ Iraldi made two free throws with 17.8 seconds left and finished with 27 points to rally Nova Southeastern to a 74-73 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills in the championship game of the Division II Tournament
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — MJ Iraldi made two free throws with 17.8 seconds left and finished with 27 points to rally Nova Southeastern to a 74-73 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills in the championship game of the Division II Tournament on Saturday.
It was the second national championship for the top-seeded Sharks (36-1) in the past three seasons under coach Jim Crutchfield. Crutchfield is 563-86 over 20 seasons. His .867 winning percentage is the best in college basketball at any level among coaches with at least 10 years experience.
Iraldi's free throws came after David Cheatom had given the seventh-seeded Toros (30-6) the lead with 24 seconds remaining. Cheatom had a layup in traffic roll off the rim in the final second.
Iraldi made 8 of 16 shots with a 3-pointer and 10 of 12 foul shots. He added nine rebounds and three steals. Tyler Eberhart totaled 14 points and six boards. Dallas Graziani pitched in with 13 points and nine assists.
Jeremy Dent-Smith led Dominguez Hills with 27 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with 1:19 left. Dent-Smith helped rally the Toros from an eight-point deficit with 11 minutes remaining. He scored six straight points to tie the game at 62 with 8:15 to go. Cheatom scored 15.
A layup by Ross Reeves gave the Sharks a 17-9 lead seven minutes into the game. Dent-Smith's basket capped a 15-5 run from there as the Toros moved in front and played with a lead over the final 7:37, taking a 42-38 advantage into halftime.
The Sharks capped an unbeaten 36-0 season with a 111-101 victory over West Liberty in the 2023 title game before losing to Minnesota State 88-85 last season.
The Toros' women also lost in the championship game. Minnesota State's men and women won championships last season as the first school with teams in both title games.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
