MONMOUTH, Ore. — In the first-ever meeting between two of the best teams not only in the region, but NCAA Division II, it was bound to have some excitement. It came down to the wire, but No. 21-ranked California Baptist University grabbed an 80-76 victory over No. 3-ranked Western Oregon for its first D-II West Region Championship.
 
The Lancers improve to 28-5 on the year and advance to the Elite Eight, held March 20-24 in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Wolves end their successful year with a 31-2 record, seeing their 24-game winning streak come to an end. 

Kalidou Diouf led the Lancers with 23 points (9-for-17), while Jordan Heading chipped in 15 points (4-for-6). The duo was named to the all-tournament team, with Diouf grabbing Most Outstanding Player honors. Cory Lange chipped in 14 points (5-for-8), with Ty Rowell finishing with 11 points (8-for-12 from the charity stripe).  

CBU out-rebounded WOU 42-to-30. Diouf and Heading each grabbed seven boards on the night. 

Lange got the scoring going with the first basket of the night and a three-pointer from Bul Kuol put CBU in front by five early, 7-2. Gabe Taylor tipped in an offensive board, 17-11, to keep some distance for the Lancers, but the Wolves weren't rolling over yet. WOU responded with a 6-0 spurt to even the game up 17-17.  

This time, CBU had a response of its own as Jason Todd sparked seven-consecutive points, with Rowell (triple) and Diouf (jumper) getting in on the action to give the Lancers a 24-17 lead with under eight minutes left in the half.  

WOU pulled within one, 29-28, but the Lancers closed out the half on a 6-2 run to take a 35-30 upper hand into the break. 

The home crowd got rowdy in the second half as the Wolves took the lead, 41-38, less than five minutes into the half. After Todd tipped out a crucial offensive board to keep the Lancers on the attack, Kuol rattled in a three-pointer to even things up, 43-43, with still a lot of time on the clock (13:47).  

About halfway through the second, CBU put a run together to create some distance. Heading scored off his own put-back, before Diouf banked in a shot and Rowell finished two free throws to put the Lancers back in front by nine, 57-48. 

CBU wasn't out of danger, despite holding a 67-61 lead heading down the stretch. 

Heading knocked down a trey to give the Lancers a 10-point lead, 72-62, but the Wolves answered right back.  

With under 30 seconds on the clock, WOU cut the margin to two, 78-76, and got a stop. The Wolves called a timeout with the crowd going wild. 

Rowell came up huge with a defensive board and drew a foul with 2.3 seconds on the clock. He hit both free throws, sealing the 80-76 victory.  

The Lancers will find out who they draw for the Elite Eight on Wednesday, since the rest of the regions still have their championships tomorrow.