[Box score]

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - No lead is looking too insurmountable for the Cal State Dominguez Hills men's basketball team as they overcame a 19-point deficit in the national semifinals to defeat No. 3 seed Dallas Baptist (DBU) and advance to the program's first NCAA Division II Championship game.
 
Alex Garcia delivered a clutch game-tying 3-pointer with 2.8 left in regulation to send the game to overtime, where CSUDH would outscore DBU 18-7 to clinch the victory.
 
Jeremy Dent-Smith helped lead the Toros' comeback as the All-American scored 33 points and grabbed seven rebounds. He was 11-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 at the free throw line.
 
Jordan Hilstock and Adam Afifi each chipped in with 15 points. Hilstock hit two 3-pointers and was a perfect 9-of-9 at the charity stripe. Afifi scored five of his 15 points in overtime while also posting a block, a steal, and a rebound in the five extra minutes. CSUDH also got seven points from DJ Guest, eight from David Cheatom, and nine from Alex Garcia. Garcia went 4-for-4 from the field, including his 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.
 
The Toros fell behind 35-16 after the first 15 minutes of the game. They chipped away with a 15-4 run to trail by just seven at halftime (41-34). DBU would push its lead back to double-figures with 12 minutes remaining (62-51). However, just a minute later, the Patriots' Xavion Brown would go to the bench with his fourth foul, and the Toros took advantage, outscoring DBU the rest of the way 43-21.
 
A 17-6 run by the Toros would initially tie up the game at 68-68, before an Afifi layup and a 3-pointer by Dent-Smith gave CSUDH its largest lead of the game to that point at 73-68. The Toros went cold over the next four minutes as the Patriots got a free throw and two layups to tie the game at 73-73 with 38 seconds remaining. Dominguez Hills had the chance to retake the lead on the ensuing possession, but it turned the ball over. DBU sprinted up the court, finding Cody Stevens open in the corner for the go-ahead 3-pointer (76-73).
 
After a timeout, CSUDH had to inbound the ball from their baseline with 7.6 seconds remaining. With Dent-Smith being denied the ball, Guest found an open Garcia. The senior sprinted up the left sideline and pulled up in front of a defender just behind the 3-point line. His shot was pure, and it found the bottom of the net with 2.8 seconds left to tie the game at 76-76.
 
The Toros carried the momentum from Garcia's shot into overtime, where they scored the first 10 points in the extra period. CSUDH would shoot .714 percent in overtime (7-of-9) and go 7-of-8 at the line to close out the game.
 
Trevor Frank paced DBU with 23 points off the bench. Ricky Lujan added 22 points, but the Toros limited him to 8-of-26 from the field. Cameron Kahn and Brown each had 12 points.

The Toros are the first CCAA team to reach the NCAA Championship game since Cal Poly Pomona won the title in 2010. 
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills will play Nova Southeastern for the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship on Saturday, Mar. 29. The game will be shown nationally on CBS at Noon.