Saints Men's and Women's Basketball begin MCCC Tournament action on Thursday

The Central Christian College of the Bible men's and women's basketball teams start Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament play this week at Calvary University in Kansas City.

The CCCB men are the No. 3 seed after finishing third in the MCCC regular season standings with a record of 8-4 following their 82-78 victory over Barclay on Saturday. They will take on No. 6 seed Emmaus University on Thursday at 4 p.m.

The Saints sat in a three-way tie for first in the MCCC heading into the final weekend of league play, but a 85-68 loss to sixth-ranked Manhattan Christian College dropped them to third. Manhattan Christian and Faith Baptist Bible College finished tied for first with records of 9-3, but Faith Baptist won both games against the Thunder to break the tie and claim the regular season title.

The CCCB men won both of their games against Faith Baptist, but lost both times to Manhattan Christian, who became the No. 2 seed. Last Friday, the Saints were deadlocked with the Thunder at 60-apiece in Manhattan before MCC rolled off a 25-8 run to close the game.

The Saints won both games against Emmaus, winning 81-75 in Moberly and 80-72 in Dubuque, Iowa. Another Saints win on Thursday would likely create a rematch with Manhattan Christian in the semifinals on Friday at 4 p.m. A loss to Emmaus would have the CCCB men playing in the consolation semifinal at 12 p.m. on Friday.

On the women's side, the Saints are the No. 5 seed and also take on Emmaus, the No. 4 seed, on Thursday at 6 p.m.

The CCCB women finished fifth in the conference standings with a record of 5-7, while Emmaus, Manhattan Christian and Ozark Christian all tied for second place. The Saints had close losses with the Eagles on both occasions, falling 81-79 in Moberly and 69-56 in Dubuque.

A win against the Eagles this time around would have the Saints advancing to face top seed and conference champion Calvary University in the semifinals on Friday at 6 p.m. The CCCB women defeated Calvary both times this season, handing the Warriors two of their three losses. A loss on Thursday would have the Saints playing in the consolation final on Friday at 10 a.m.