Men's Basketball | 3/29/2014 3:12:00 AM

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The West Liberty University men's basketball team looks to make history this afternoon when Coach Jim Crutchfield's No. 7-ranked Hilltoppers (31-3) take on No. 20 Central Missouri (29-5) in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight national championship game.
    Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. (EDT) at the Ford Center. The game will be televised live nationwide on CBS.
    This is West Liberty's fourth straight trip to the Elite Eight but it's the first time the Hilltoppers have advanced to the finals. Bringing a national championship trophy back home to the hilltop would be a dream come true for Crutchfield and his talented 'Toppers.
    "I can't tell you how proud I am of these guys," Crutchfield said. "They've worked so hard and had to battle every step of the way to put themselves in this position."
    West Liberty's latest battle came Thursday night in a nail-biting 86-83 national semifinal victory against No. 5 South Carolina-Aiken. Shawn Dyer poured in a game-high 30 points and the often-overlooked Hilltopper defense delivered several key stops down the stretch to seal the hard-earned win.
    They'll get no sympathy from Central Missouri as the Mules enter today's game off a thrilling 71-69 upset of No. 1-ranked Metro State, Colo. T.J. White's transition layup with one second remaining snapped a 69-69 tie for the Mules, who then held their breath as Metro's desperation 3-point try clanged off the iron at the buzzer.
    Both coaches credited a tough conference schedule with preparing them for the trials and tribulations of NCAA action. Central Missouri won its third straight MIAA championship while West Liberty breezed to its fifth straight league crown in the Mountain East Conference's inaugural season but both of this year's national championship game entries came up short in their respective conference tournaments.
    The Mules were shocked, 84-82, by No. 9 seed Northeastern State in the MIAA quarterfinals while No. 2 seed Charleston hit a late 3-pointer to upend the Hilltoppers, 63-60, in the championship game of the MEC Tournament. Both teams bounced back from those losses to survive tough challenges in regional tournament play and earn a spot in tomorrow's title tilt.
    "Not that we had been playing poorly," UCM head man Kim Anderson said, "but I think it helped us get our focus back where it needed to be heading into the NCAAs."
    Crutchfield agreed.
    "The difference with our team this year is that we've really had to fight and scrap for wins; we haven't really rolled over a lot of people like some of our teams have done in the past," Crutchfield said. "We had to win our regional on the road this year. We won a tough first game against Glenville State and then gutted out a triple-overtime win against Indiana (PA) before beating No. 2 East Stroudsburg on their home floor in front of about 2,000 fans. That's what it took for us to get here and, since we won, I think it was great preparation."
    The Hilltoppers will stick with the same rotation they've used throughout the second half of the season. Senior All-American Cedric Harris (17.8 ppg.) will start along with fellow senior Keene Cockburn (11.6 ppg.). Sophomore Mike Lamberti (4.8 ppg.) along with freshmen Devin Hoehn (12.0 ppg.) and Zak Kirkbride (3.4 ppg.) round out the starters.
    Crutchfield brings a pair of junior 1,000-point scorers off the bench in Dyer (14.8 ppg.) and C.J. Hester (14.3 ppg.) with sharpshooting sophomores Kelvin Goodwin (10.8 ppg.) and Seger Bonifant (10.4 ppg.) also in the mix.
    Central Missouri – which features 14 transfers on its 16-man roster – is led by 6-9 junior post Dillon Deck (13.7 ppg.) and the talented senior backcourt duo of 6-0 Daylen Robinson (12.9 ppg.) and 6-6 Charles Hammork (12.9 ppg.). Preston Brunz (5.2 ppg.), a 6-1 junior, and 6-2 senior Jon Gilliam (6.0 ppg.) round out the starters.
    First off the bench for the Mules are White (7.3 ppg.), a 6-1 junior guard, 6-3 senior Ryan Magdziarz (6.1 ppg.), 5-11 sophomore Jordan Epps (6.8 ppg.) and 6-6 freshman Kyle Wolf (6.5 ppg.).
ELITE EIGHT NOTES
    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 WLU's first championship game, the Hilltoppers are playing in their fourth straight Elite Eight and have played in three of the last four Final Fours
    X West Liberty has an 18-5 (.783) record in 6 NCAA Tournament trips. That's the best winning percentage of any current Division II program
    X Hilltopper All-American Cedric Harris is the active NCAA Division II career leader in points (2,217) and assists (693)
    X West Liberty sophomore Seger Bonifant leads all active NCAA Division II players in 3-point field goal percentage (140-254, .551)
    X C.J. Hester grabbed his 900th career rebound during Thursday's win against USC-Aiken. He needs two more to pass WLU Hall of Famer Spencer Johnson for third place on the school's career rebounding list
    X Harris needs two assists to pass Dan Binggeli (530) for second place on West Liberty's list of all-time assist leaders
    X Central Missouri is 36-21 in 22 NCAA Tournament appearances and is an outstanding 16-6 in 7 NCAA Tourneys under Anderson
    X The Mules won the 1984 NCAA Division II title, beating St. Augustine's (NC), 81-77, in Springfield, Mass. Later that day, the UCM Jennies beat Virginia Union, 80-73, on the same floor to claim the women's national title
    X Central Missouri head coach Kim Anderson (273-95, .742) ranks No. 4 among all active NCAA Division II coaches in winning percentage