[Box score]

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Cal State Dominguez Hills overcame a 17-point second-half deficit in the men's basketball Elite Eight to upset No. 2 seed West Liberty, 86-84, and earn the right to advance to the program's first NCAA Tournament semifinals. (Mar. 25)
 
The Toros trailed 50-39 at halftime and were down 60-43 at the 17:26 mark in the second half. That is when they rattled off an 18-0 run over the next five minutes to take their first lead since early in the first half. After a layup by Adam Afifi cut the lead to 15, Jayden Winfrey made a great block while guarding his defender, and that seemed to spark the extra energy needed for the Toros' comeback.
 
David Cheatom and Jeremy Dent-Smith each scored five points during the run as CSUDH turned a 17-point deficit into a one-point lead, 61-60. The Hilltoppers would take back the lead with a layup, but again the Toros answered. They scored the following seven points to retake the lead at 68-62.
 
West Liberty battled back to tie the game at 78-78 with four minutes remaining. The teams would trade baskets over the three minutes until it was tied at 82-82. DJ Guest would give the Toros the lead for good when he converted a tough layup in traffic. With the lead in hand, the Toros stopped the Hilltoppers on their next two possessions to maintain the lead with 50 seconds remaining.
 
CSUDH put the ball in the hands of their All-American Dent-Smith, who took the shot clock below 10 seconds. When he made the drive from the left side, Dent-Smith drew the attention of three Hilltopper defenders, and he was able to drop a perfect pass to a wide-open Alex Garcia under the hoop for a layup to go up four (86-82).
 
West Liberty would get a layup to go down by just two before committing a foul and sending the Toros to the free throw line. CSUDH missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 to give the Hilltoppers one more chance, but their final shot from beyond halfcourt came up short and the Toros celebrated the program's first Elite Eight win.
 
David Cheatom scored 13 of his team-leading 22 points in the second half. The guard went 7-of-14 from the field and 8-of-10 at the free throw line to lead five Toros in double-figures. Jeremy Dent-Smith also scored most of his points in the second half as he logged 15 of his 19 points after intermission. He hit half of the team's six 3-pointers and also pulled down seven rebounds.
 
DJ Guest came off the bench and played one of his best games of the season. He hit his first four shots and finished 5-of-6 with 11 points. He was asked to play out of position, as he was the tallest player on the court, when they went with a small lineup in the second half. Guest also had five rebounds and four assists. Adam Afifi had 12 points and Jordan Hilstock chipped in with 10, including two 3-pointers. Alex Garcia led all student-athletes with nine rebounds, as CSUDH outrebounded WLU by 11 and outscored them 20-8 on second-chance points.
 
West Liberty's Kyler D'Augustino led all scorers with 23 points. He was 10-of-20 from the field but was held without a 3-point attempt. The Hilltoppers entered the game averaging over 12 made 3-pointers per game but were limited by the Toros' defense to just 5-of-19 from behind the arc. Finley Woodward added 20 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills will play Dallas Baptist University (DBU) in the national semifinals on Thursday, March 27, at 4 p.m. ncaa.com/game/6385570