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Box score]
SAN DIEGO - No. 2 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills earned its first NCAA postseason victory since 2009 with a 66-59 win over No. 7 seed Northwest Nazarene in the first round NCAA West Regional.
David Cheatom led the Toros with 23 points as he went 5-of-8 from the field and a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line.
Adam Afifi registered 18 points and eight rebounds. Jeremy Dent-Smith posted his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Easton Reagan came off the bench to lead four Nighthawks in double-figures with 15 points. Sullivan Menard scored 13 points, and
Kye Dickson and
Briggs Ranstrom chipped in with 11 points apiece. Dickson also pulled down 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double.
Cal State Dominguez Hills struggled in the first half, shooting just .333 percent (10-of-30) to fall behind at halftime 36-29. NNU hit the first basket out of intermission to extend their lead to nine (38-29) before CSUDH went on a 12-2 run to take its first lead since early in the first half (41-40).
The teams would trade buckets the rest of the way, with neither leading by more than four until the final minute. After a
Jordan Hilstock layup tied the game at 56-56 with just under four minutes remaining, the Toros got a stop and two free throws from
Adam Afifi, and they would never the rest of the way. A jumper by Afifi would extend the lead to four, but a pair of free throws 30 seconds apart had the Nighthawks within a possession with a minute remaining.
Rayzhon Bergersen took the attempted go-ahead shot for NNU, but his 3-pointer skipped off the rim, and Cheatom chased it down in the corner. The Toros would run time off the clock before NNU could send Cheatom to the line. He would knock down both free throws, as would Afifi 10 seconds later to seal the win.
Cal State Dominguez Hills will now face No. 6 seed Central Washington in the semifinals on Saturday, Mar. 15, at 5 p.m. These two teams met in the first round of the 2024 NCAA West Regional and combined for 200 points (CWU 110-90).