All the hard-fought, shot-for-shot games, blow-out wins and defeats came down to one weekend and one event.

On Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5, CSU East Bay hosted the 2011 CCAA Division II Basketball Championships.

Although CSUEB did not participate in the events, a great number of collegiate basketball teams showcased their talents leading the way to the crowning of the 2011 champions.

Both men and women semi-finals and championship games unfolded in dramatic fashion in the Pioneer gym.

Semi-final action saw No. 2 ranked CSU Dominguez Hills defeat No. 5 seed Cal Poly Pomona, 70-61. Shortly after, top ranked Humboldt State topped No. 6 CSU Los Angeles by a score of 63-49.

In the women semi-final games, No. 2 ranked Cal Poly Pomona topped No. 3 UC San Diego, 78-75. Then it was first place CSU Monterey Bay defeating No. 4 ranked CSU San Bernardino in dramatic fashion, concluding Friday’s events.

The winners of Friday’s games advanced to the men’s and women’s championship games, which unfolded on March 5.

Men’s semi-finals winners, CSU Dominguez Hills and Humboldt State, were ready to duke it out in the final game of the season.

In the end, it was CSU Dominguez Hills who came out victorious, with a last second, game-winning 3-point buzzer shot by Robert Willhite to seal the championship for CSU Dominguez Hills with a final score of 51-50.

The women’s championship game saw an equal amount of excitement as the back and forth game between Cal Poly Pomona and CSU Monterey Bay saw the reigning Division II champs Cal Poly Pomona hold on to win with a final score of 59-53.

This weekend marked the third time that CSUEB has hosted a basketball championship tournament, the last time being in 1985 and 1986 when the University, then known as Cal State Hayward, hosted the NCAA Division II West Regional.