Evansville, Ind. – The West Liberty University men's basketball team saw their season come to a heartbreaking end with an 86-84 loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills in the Elite 8 on Tuesday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.

A key factor in the Hilltoppers' defeat was their struggles from beyond the arc. WLU, which ranked third in the nation with an average of 12.1 made three-pointers per game, connected on just 5-of-19 attempts from deep,  their lowest three-point output of the season.

Trailing 14-13 in the first half, the Hilltoppers took the lead on a Lanyc Shuler basket to go up 15-14 and maintained control for the remainder of the opening period, heading into halftime with a 50-39 advantage.

West Liberty came out strong after the break, opening on a 10-4 run to build their largest lead of the game at 60-43 with 17:23 remaining. However, the Toros stormed back with an 18-0 run, capped by a three-pointer from Jeremy Dent-Smith that gave CSU Dominguez Hills a 61-60 lead at the 12:59 mark.

CSUDH continued to push, extending their lead to 74-66 with 8:39 left. The Hilltoppers battled back, going on a 10-2 run to tie the game at 76 with 4:50 remaining.

Tied at 78, the Toros regained the lead with a layup from David Cheatom, followed by a bucket from Dent-Smith to make it 82-78 with 3:04 left. Kyler D'Augustino answered with a layup to knot the score at 82 at the 2:18 mark, but CSUDH responded with back-to-back baskets to go up 86-82 with just 24 seconds remaining.

Finley Woodward cut the deficit to two with a clutch bucket at the 16-second mark, and West Liberty had one final chance to tie or win following a missed free throw by CSUDH. However, JJ Harper's last-second heave at the buzzer fell short, ending the Hilltoppers' impressive season.

D'Augustino led all scorers with 23 points, while Woodward contributed 20 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Harper also finished in double figures with 12 points.

With the loss, West Liberty closes the season with a 30-5 record.