THE RUNDOWN
In a thrilling and hard-fought battle, the DBUÂ Patriots saw their historic run come to an end in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, falling 94-83 in overtime to Cal State Dominguez Hills. Trevor Frank led the Patriots with 23 points, providing a standout performance throughout the game. Despite the loss, this season has been a monumental achievement for DBU, marked by numerous firsts, including their first-ever Lone Star Conference Championship, their first NCAA Division II Regional Championship, and the winningest season in program history. Most notably, the Patriots made their debut in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Elite Eight, a journey that has been nothing short of a blessing for the team. Although they fell just short in this semifinal, the growth and resilience shown by this group will undoubtedly leave a lasting legacy on the program.
The Patriots won the opening tip-off, but Cameron Kahn missed the first shot of the night. However, DBU quickly found their rhythm as Jaden Shelvin forced a turnover on the Toros, leading to Kahn assisting Xavion Brown on a highlight-reel alley-oop dunk to give the Patriots an early lead. Despite the early momentum, CSUDH answered back on their next possession, tying the game. Kahn then hit a turnaround jumper to put DBU back in front, but the Toros responded again, once more tying the score. What followed was a back-and-forth battle as both teams exchanged leads and equalizers.
At the 17:10 mark, with the score knotted at 6-6, Ricky Lujan hit a jumper in the paint, and Brown followed it up with a steal and layup, giving DBU a slight edge at 8-6. However, the Toros quickly tied things up again. Lujan then drilled a three-pointer to push DBU back ahead, 11-8. After the under-16 media timeout, Issac Bullard nailed another three-pointer, extending the Patriots' lead to six at 14-8. Taking advantage of the Toros' foul trouble, Trevor Frank connected on a three-pointer and completed an and-one opportunity to put DBU up 17-8. The Patriots then went on an impressive 12-point scoring run over two minutes, forcing five turnovers and registering four steals to push their lead to 20-8 with 14:47 left in the first half.
Despite the early dominance, DBU was soon caught in a scoring drought, unable to find the basket for nearly four minutes as CSUDH began to trim the Patriots' lead. The Toros cut the deficit to single digits, but Frank answered with a stepback three-pointer, followed by Bullard's jumper, restoring DBU's 13-point advantage at 29-16. The Patriots kept the pressure on, going on another 11-point run and forcing the Toros into a scoring drought lasting over four minutes. By the time the run was over, DBU had a commanding 35-16 lead. However, the Toros began to mount a push, trimming the deficit to 11 points. Frank added a steal and layup, ensuring the Patriots maintained a comfortable lead. As the clock ticked down to the final moments of the half, the Toros mounted a six-point run to cut DBU's lead to eight, 39-31, with 1:47 remaining. Lujan answered for the Patriots, pushing their lead back to double digits, but CSUDH kept battling and pulled within seven. At the halftime buzzer, the Patriots held a slim 41-34 lead.
The second half began with the Toros trimming DBU's lead to five, hitting a jumper in the paint. The Patriots quickly responded as Kahn sank two free throws after being fouled, giving DBU their first points of the second half. Brown then pushed the lead back to nine, but the Toros answered with a pull-up three-pointer, cutting the deficit to 48-42 with 16:36 remaining. DBU held an eight-point lead as they entered the under-16 media timeout, with Frank adding a set of free throws to make it 50-42. Lujan's pull-up jumper pushed the lead to 10, 52-42, and a dunk from Brown, followed by a pull-up jumper from Frank, extended it to 12. However, the Toros responded with a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to seven, but Frank answered with a clutch three-pointer, putting DBU back in double digits.Â
The game continued as a back-and-forth affair, with DBU's lead fluctuating between eight and 10 points. Frank then hit three free throws, extending the Patriots' lead to 11. Unfortunately, DBU started facing some foul trouble and shooting struggles, and CSUDH capitalized on the situation, going on an 11-1 run to pull within one, 63-62, with 9:44 remaining. With the game tightening up, Frank and Kahn hit crucial shots to push the lead back to four, 68-64, but the Toros answered with a six-point run of their own to take a two-point lead, 70-68, erasing DBU's earlier 19-point advantage with 5:43 left on the clock. CSUDH kept the momentum going, stretching their lead to five as DBU went into a five-minute scoring drought.
With time ticking down, Brown made a free throw to trim the deficit to four, and Lujan followed with a layup to cut the lead to two with a minute remaining, giving DBU hope. However, a foul sent CSUDH to the free-throw line, but they missed the shot. On the next possession, Lujan scored again, this time tying the game at 73 with 38 seconds left. Frank then made a crucial steal, forcing a turnover and setting up Cody Stevens to drain a three-pointer, his first shot of the night, with nine seconds remaining, putting DBU ahead 76-73. In a dramatic turn, the Toros hit a three-pointer with just two seconds left to tie the game at 76, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, the Toros came out strong, hitting the first baskets to take a five-point lead, 81-76. A foul on Brown, who fouled out of the game, gave CSUDH a chance to extend their lead with free throws, pushing it to seven, then to eight with another free-throw opportunity. The Patriots struggled to find their rhythm, unable to convert on offense as the Toros extended their lead to double digits, capped off by a dunk with 2:43 remaining. Frank hit a three-pointer, DBU's first field goal of the overtime period, cutting the deficit to six, 86-80, with 1:57 left. However, CSUDH responded with a turnaround jumper to push the lead back to eight. Foul trouble continued to haunt the Patriots in the final seconds, and despite a valiant effort, they fell 94-83 in overtime.
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- DBU finishes its season with its first trip to the NCAA Final Four in school history.
- The senior class of Cameron Kahn, Graham Kroll, Ricky Lujan, and Isaac Bullard finishes their careers with 110 wins.
- Trevor Frank led DBU in scoring with 23 points.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
34 - DBU's 34 wins are the most in school history.
829 - Cameron Kahn's 829 rebounds are the most in school history.
2,214 - Ricky Lujan finished his career with his debut as DBU's all-time leading scorer with 2,214 points.
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