Nova Southeastern wins Div. II title
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Will Yoakum scored 31 points, Dallas Graziani added 24 points, nine assists and three steals and top-ranked Nova Southeastern beat West Liberty 111-101 on Saturday to win the first NCAA Division II national championship in program history.
“They’re special,” Nova Southeastern coach Jim Crutchfield said, “because they’re 36-0.”
The Sharks, who went 33-1 last season with their lone loss coming in the Elite 8, became just the sixth undefeated team to win the title, joining Northwest Missouri State (38-0 in 2018-19, the first of three straight championships), Findlay (36-0 in 2008-09), Fort Hays State (34-0 in 199596), Cal State Bakersfield (33-0 in 1992-93) and Evansville (29-0 in 1964-65).
RJ Sunahara fouled out with about five minutes left and finished with 28 points on 12-for-17 shooting for Nova Southeastern and Kobe Rodgers
added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Bryce Butler led West Liberty (33-4) with 32 points and nine rebounds. Christian Montague hit 5-of-7 from 3-point range and finished with 19 points, Steve Cannady and Zach Rasile scored 11 apiece and Chaz Hinds added 10 points.
Sunahara made a layup to open the scoring about a minute into the game, Graziani scored to make it 16-6 with 15:23 left in the first half and Nova Southeastern never trailed.
The Sharks, who went into the game leading Division II in scoring (102.5 per game), set the record for most points by a team in an NCAA men’s or women’s championship game at any division.
North Carolina: The family of former North Carolina and NBA big man Eric Montross says he has begun treatments for cancer. Montross’ family issued a statement through the school on Saturday announcing the 51-year-old’s diagnosis, though it didn’t specify the nature of the cancer.
Miami: Coach Jim Larrañaga wants to know how much money athletes at other schools are making through name, image and likeness deals. It’s only fair, he said, since no school has had the values of its athletes’ deals publicized more than Miami. “I think everybody should be transparent,” he said at a news conference Saturday ahead of his team’s NCAA Tournament Midwest Region final against Texas. “Why is it hidden behind the curtain? Why? You can go on a website and check out anybody’s salary in the NBA. There are a lot of schools that do the same thing we do. We just don’t know about it because it’s not public knowledge. Why not? Why are we afraid of sharing that information?” Larrañaga said full disclosure is important for competitive reasons and also so the NCAA or Congress can have more information at their disposal when, and if, they bring clarity and uniformity to NIL rules. Nijel Pack’s two-year, $800,000 contract with Miami booster John Ruiz is the most publicized NIL deal since the NCAA began allowing college athletes to make money off their popularity. ACC Player of the Year Isaiah Wong’s $100,000 deal with Ruiz also became public.
New Mexico State: New Mexico State has hired longtime Sam Houston coach Jason Hooten to try to restore a program that was shut down in the middle of the season after one player was involved in a fatal shooting and another accused teammates of hazing.
Ohio State: Ohio State leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh plans to enter the NBA draft while leaving open the possibility of returning next season with the Buckeyes.