Men's Basketball | 3/28/2014 3:46:00 AM

Box Score EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Shawn Dyer scored 22 of his game-high 30 points in the second half here Thursday night to help No. 7 West Liberty hold off No. 5 South Carolina-Aiken, 86-83, in an NCAA Division II Elite Eight national semifinal at the Ford Center.
    The thrilling win propelled Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (31-3) into Saturday's national championship game against No. 20 Central Missouri (29-5). The Mules shocked No. 1-ranked Metro State, Colo., 71-69, in Thursday's other semifinal tilt.
    West Liberty and Central Missouri will tip off at 3 p.m. (EDT) Saturday. The game will be televised live on CBS.
    "I couldn't be more excited than I am right now for these guys to have the opportunity to play for a national championship," Crutchfield said. "These guys have worked really hard to put themselves in this position and we've had different guys step up for us at different times all season."
    In an epic battle that saw 7 ties and a staggering 16 lead changes, it was Dyer who answered the call Thursday night.
    With USC-Aiken (32-4) committed to taking away West Liberty's 3-point game – the Hilltoppers' four 3-pointers were a season-low – the powerfully-built 6-0 southpaw blazed another trail to victory.
    "I had a pretty good feeling coming out for the second half anyway," Dyer said. "When Coach Crutchfield and my teammates kept telling me to take my man off the dribble, that really boosted my confidence."
    Dyer's biggest shot of the night came with West Liberty clinging to a 79-78 lead as the clock ticked past the 2-minute mark.
    With the Pacers in a man-to-man defense, the Hilltoppers cleared out the paint as the shot clock wound down into single digits. Dyer power-dribbled down the left side of the lane, absorbed some contact from USC-Aiken guard Jesse Seilern, and kissed the ball off the glass as the whistle sounded. The free throw made it a two-possession game, 82-78, with 1:57 on the clock.
    "Shawn really stepped up and played a great game tonight," Crutchfield said. "He was just taking the ball to the hole like crazy in the second half."
    Aiken missed at the other end and the Hilltoppers worked the game clock down under a minute before the ball came back around to Dyer. With the shot clock again winding down, he muscled his way to the hoop and drew the fifth foul on Seilern. These two free throws pushed the margin to 84-78 with 53 seconds left and West Liberty held on from there.
    "I can't tell you how proud I am of these guys," Crutchfield said. "We lost three 1,000-point scorers and the national player of the year to graduation so most people figured this would be a rebuilding year for us but these guys were determined to build their own legacy."
    All-American Cedric Harris backed Dyer with 16 points and a game-high 5 assists while Devin Hoehn added 15 points. Keene Cockburn finished with just 4 points but outdueled the taller Pacer front line for a game-high 13 while handing out 3 assists and collecting a pair of steals.
    Aiken got 19 points from stellar senior guard DeVontae Wright but leading scorer Ronald Zimmerman, who had poured in 33 points in Wednesday's quarterfinal win against Chico State, Calif., was held to 13 points on just 4-of-13 shooting from the floor. Shane Porchea and Paul Larsen added a dozen points each in a losing cause.
    "I know at the start of the season a lot of people didn't give us much of a chance to get back here," Harris said, "but I think winning our regional on the road this year brought us together and really helped our mental toughness. Now we get a chance to play for a national championship and that's a dream come true."
GAME NOTES
    X Despite USC-Aiken's size advantage, West Liberty actually had a 40-38 edge in points in the paint Thursday night
    X Crutchfield (272-48, .850) has the highest winning percentage in college basketball history for any coach with 10 or more seasons at an NCAA school
    X The Hilltoppers' last four wins have come against nationally-ranked foes: No. 15 Indiana (PA), No. 2 East Stroudsburg, No. 8 Drury and No. 5 USC-Aiken
    X While this is West Liberty's first championship game appearance, the Hilltoppers are playing in their fourth straight Elite Eight and have advanced to the Final Four in three of the last four seasons
    X West Liberty improved to 18-5 (.783) all-time in NCAA tourney action. That's the highest winning percentage of any current Division II program
    X With 2,217 career points, the Hilltoppers' Harris is the leading active scorer in NCAA Division II this season