Number one seed Nova Southeastern were upset in the national semifinals by Lander University. The Bearcats are heading to their first-ever national championship game in program history after silencing the potent Shark attack.
Bearcats Dominate Sharks
The Bearcats dominated the Sharks from start to finish. They held the lead for 32 of the 40 minutes and showed no fear in their offensive and defensive attack against the DII men’s basketball superpower, winning by 10 points, 91-81.
Lander was the number two seed in the Southeast Region. The Bearcats advanced to the DII Men’s Elite Eight by smothering a Lenoir-Rhyne offense, holding the Bears to just 62 points.
Defensive Masterclass
Lander upset number four Daemen by holding the Wildcats to just 74 points. The Bearcats followed that up by stunning the best team in DII men’s basketball and holding them to just 81 points. The Sharks score 99.4 points per game and, minus a short burst to tie it roughly halfway through the second half, never found a rhythm.
Lander had the seventh-best field-goal percentage defense, holding teams to 39.5 percent shooting, and it showed in this game. The Bearcats held Nova Southeastern to just 32.6 percent shooting and 2-for-16 from 3-point land. It was the Sharks’ worst shooting performance of the season by a decent margin and the fewest 3-pointers they hit all year.
The Bearcats were physical in every aspect of the game. Usually, Nova Southeastern’s full-court game plan, pressing for most of the game, takes a team out of their rhythm. It wears them down and many times, leaves them short of the basket, allowing Nova Southeastern to win in lopsided fashion.
Bearcats Keep Their Energy High
The Bearcats were not afraid of the pressure, and kept their energy high in a highly physical game. They led by as many as 15, and Nova Southeastern impressively fought back to tie it. However, in what seemed like a blink of an eye, Lander jumped back out to a seven point lead and never relinquished the lead again.
While Nova Southeastern won the battle of the boards, Lander limited the second chance points. So, with the poor shooting night, the Sharks weren’t able to consistently capitalize on their misses, despite the edge in rebounding. The Bearcats seemed to slow the game down and never let the Sharks get comfortable in their high-octane attack unfold.
Pritzl’s Contribution
Greyson Pritzl has been one of the big reasons for Lander’s tournament success. The sharpshooting guard has hit at least four 3-pointers in five-straight tournament games. Pritzl had arguably his best game yet, scoring 25 points, while going 5-for-10 from 3, grabbing eight rebounds and hitting all four key free throws.
Dylan Canoville provided quite the spark in his 25 minutes.