WEST LIBERTY, W. Va. — The West Liberty men’s basketball team is dancing its way to the Elite 8.  

The Hilltoppers, the NCAA Atlantic Region’s top seed, defeated No. 2 seed Gannon, 101-90, at ASRC to advance to the Division II national quarterfinals. The Elite 8 will be held March 25-29 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. West Liberty will be the No. 2 seed among the final eight teams, and will face seventh-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills on Tuesday (time TBA). 

West Liberty improved to 30-4 with Tuesday night’s win, the seventh time in program history a team has reached 30 victories in a season. The Hilltoppers reached the regional final for the 11th time in the last 15 seasons, and improved to 19-1 in NCAA Tournament games at ASRC. WLU has won eight regional championships.

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West Liberty built a 51-47 lead at intermission behind a scorching hot first half. The Hilltoppers shot 56.8 percent from the field, including eight 3-pointers. WLU first pushed the lead to double digits with 8:30 left to go of regulation on a 3-pointer by Lanyc Shuler, which made it 79-69. That lead grew to as many as 17 points, 94-77, with 2:54 left when Shuler made a pair of free throws.

Kyler D’Augustino led the way for West Liberty with 27 points on 12 of 18 shooting. He hit a pair of 3-pointers, too.

Shuler added 22 points on 8 of 10 shooting, including a pair of 3s and 4 of 4 from the line. He also had a team-high three steals.

Two other Hilltoppers scored in double figures: JJ Harper and Kameron Tinsley, both of whom finished with 13 points. Harper added six rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and a steal. Tinsley added six rebounds and two steals.

Finley Woodward filled the stat sheet with 8 points, seven rebounds, and a game-high nine assists.

The quarterfinals will be played Tuesday, March 25, followed by the semifinals on Thursday, March 27, and the national championship game Saturday, March 29.

Regionals | March 18
No. 1 West Liberty 101, No. 2 Gannon 90
No. 1 Nova Southeastern 76, No. 2 Alabama Hunstville 69
No. 3 Lenoir-Rhyne 76, No. 5 UNC Pembroke 74
No. 6 Assumption 97, No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas 90
No. 1 Washburn 93, No. 2 MSU Moorhead 65
No. 2 Lake Superior St. 75, No. 4 Missouri-St. Louis 62
No. 1 DBU 100, No. 2 Colorado School of Mines 79
 
Quarterfinals | Tuesday, March 25
Live on ESPN+
 
Semifinals | Thursday, March 27
Live on ESPN+
 
National championship | Saturday, March 29
Live on ESPN+