Just before the end of the 2022-23 basketball season, Herald the Saint was introduced to the CCCB campus. The new mascot for Central Christian College of the Bible made his debut on Friday, February 10th, at the Saints' home men's and women's basketball games against Faith Baptist Bible College. 

How did we come up with Herald, you ask? In a message delivered by President Fincher at the beginning of the year, he touched on the previous mascots: Torchie and the St. Bernard, both icons of previous years. That birthed the idea it was time to bring a mascot to today's students.  

Should we resurrect Torchie?  Maybe a new Saint Bernard?  

We also asked the question, "What is a Saint?" 

In plain language it is someone marked by holiness, marked as God's people. In this sense Herald is an eternal pneuma, in the position of being a Saint. What makes him special is that he is adorned in the Full Armor of God. 

• Belt of Truth
• Breastplate of Righteousness
• Shoes of Peace
• Shield of Faith
• Helmet of Salvation
• Sword of the Spirit

We have an eternal being, dressed in the full armor of God carrying the Torch for all to see.   

Finally, his name reflects the long-standing initial mascot for Central: The Heralds. Herald the Saint continues to carry forth God's word, being a bearer of light for all to see. He will be found at basketball games and in places where we find other saints with which we can fellowship. 

Just a week after pulling out a win in a double-overtime thriller in the conference regular season finale, the Central Christian men's basketball team found themselves in the midst of another crazy finish in the fifth place game of the Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament.

The tournament hosts, Barclay College, went unconscious from 3-point range in the final 1:47 to erase a 17-point deficit and force overtime, only to see the Saints dominate the extra period on their way to a 104-91 victory at Hockett Auditorium.

Central Christian (10-17) had trailed by as many as nine midway through the first half, but rallied to take a one-point lead on Ayris Abdelnassar's midrange jumper at the buzzer. The Saints then slowly pulled away throughout the second half, and matched their largest lead of the game at 86-69 with 1:56 remaining.

Barclay then rolled off six made 3-pointers on their next six possessions sandwiched around some turnovers and missed free throws by the Saints.

On the final possession of regulation, the Bears's K.J. Harris was fouled on a game-tying 3-point attempt. He went on to sink all three free throws to force overtime.

In overtime, Central Christian held Barclay without a field goal, outscoring the hosts 14-1 to claim their 10th victory of the season.

Abdelnassar scored a career-high 37 points and was one rebound short of a double-double with nine. Jackson King scored 23 points, followed by Quincy James, Jr., with 18 points. Tyce Laubinger, who suited up the game before for his first action since Jan. 16, scored 11 points and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds.

In the quarterfinal game on Thursday, Central Christian fell to Emmaus Bible College, 91-86.

The Saints had struggled defensively early as the Eagles went 8-for-14 from 3-point range in the first half and held a 54-40 lead at halftime. CCCB found themselves down by as many as 20 midway through the second half, then fought their way back to a four-point game with under 10 seconds remaining before time ran out.

James, Jr., led the way with 27 points and seven rebounds, while Abdelanssar added 23 points, five rebounds and five assists. King tossed in another 13 points and Sam Adams had 11.

The Saints play their final home game of the season on Thursday when they take on Ecclesia College as part of a women's-men's doubleheader. The women tip at 5 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7 p.m.

Those in attendance Saturday afternoon had their emotions toyed with for about two hours.

The Saints had a 20-point second half lead slip away and looked to be on the wrong end of a devastating loss on two different occasions — at the ends of the first and second overtimes — before rallying for a 99-98 thrilling double-overtime victory over Emmaus Bible College at the Ferneau Center.

The win came on the heels of another big victory just a night earlier as Central Christian topped Faith Baptist Bible College, 96-87. The win over Emmaus on Saturday was the Saints' fifth in their last six games, and secured a fourth-place finish in the final Midwest Christian College Conference standings.

Central Christian (9-16, 6-6 MCCC) was in total control during the first half against Emmaus (7-13, 3-9 MCCC), leading 48-30 at halftime and by as many as 20 another 1:24 into the second half. That's when the Eagles started to chip away.

The Saints had their share of opportunities to put the game away nearing the end of regulation, but several missed free throws and a potential game-winning floater at the buzzer rolled off the rim to give the Eagles a second life.

At the end of the first overtime, it looked like Emmaus was on the verge of sealing the win, but Ayris Abdelnassar drove the length of the floor twice for layups in the final 20 seconds to knot the score at 86-apiece and force a second overtime.

Emmaus again looked in control in the second extra period, holding a 95-91 lead with under two minutes remaining. Abdelnassar came up clutch one more time with a wing 3-pointer to make it a one-point game, then after a steal on the other end by Nolan Mathes, Sam Adams delivered a drive and score for the Saints to regain the lead at 96-95 with 1:11 left to play.

Another Eagles turnover was followed by an Adams 3-pointer from the left wing that gave Central Christian a four-point lead with 40.2 seconds remaining. Emmaus responded with a 3 of their own to pull within one and the Saints followed with a turnover with 10 seconds left to give the visitors one last shot.

The Eagles went the length of the floor looking for an opening before throwing up a heavily contested 3-pointer that went long as time expired.

Abdelnassar and Jackson King both scored 23 points each to lead the Saints, while Abdelnassar also pulled down an impressive career-high of 18 rebounds. Quincy James, Jr., added another 18 points, followed by Isaiah Gilmore with 14 points.

In Friday night's game, the Saints led from nearly start to finish as they avenged a 15-point loss to the Eagles from a couple weeks earlier.

Leading 36-33 at halftime despite 1-for-9 shooting from the 3-point line, the Saints' offense got rolling in the second half as they shot 63 percent from the field to the tune of 60 more points after the break.

Three players scored 20 or more points, led by King with 26 points and six assists. Gilmore scored a season-high 23 points, while Abdelnassar recorded a triple-double of 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

The CCCB men return to the court later this week in the first round of the MCCC Tournament in Haviland, Kan. The Saints are the No. 4 seed and will have just five days before another rematch with No. 5 seed Emmaus in the 12 p.m. game on Thursday.

The Central Christian men's basketball team hit the century mark and won for the third straight time, then fell to the second-ranked team in NCCAA Division II the following day in a split of weekend games for the Saints at the Ferneau Center.

Central Christian (7-16, 4-6 MCCC) used a 27-7 run late in the game to pull away to a 105-78 victory over Barclay College on Friday. The Saints led most of the contest, but by no more than seven before going to halftime with a 41-39 advantage.

Barclay took a 48-45 lead two-and-a-half minutes into the second half, but Central Christian countered with a 22-9 spurt to regain control. Up six with 10:58 remaining, the Saints raced off and made a 20-point swing in just six minutes to claim a 94-68 lead, their largest of the night, and seal their third straight win.

Quincy James, Jr., and Ayris Abdelnassar both scored 21 points apiece to lead five players in the double figures for the Saints. James went 10-for-13 from the field, while Abdelnassar recorded seven assists. Jackson King scored 14 points, followed by Sam Adams with13 points and Knolan Hunter another 10.

Central Christian shot 64 percent from the field, dished out 21 assists, and outrebounded the Bears, 45-24.

On Saturday, the Saints had a rough day shooting as they fell, 78-57, to No. 2 Manhattan Christian College.

Despite going only 2-for-18 (11 percent)  from behind the arc and shooting just 28 percent overall in the first half, Central Christian faced a reasonable 39-26 deficit at the half.

The Saints' shooting improved slightly in the second half, but not enough to make a serious threat. Manhattan Christian went up by as many as 21 midway through the second half before CCCB used a mini run to make it a 68-53 game with 5:05 remaining. The Thunder countered with a 9-0 spurt of their own to seal the game.

Central Christian ended the night with a 30 percent clip overall and 24 percent (8-for-34) from 3-point range. Just one day after dominating the glass against Barclay, the Saints were outrebounded by the Thunder, 56-38.

Jackson King and Isaiah Gilmore both sored 14 points each to lead CCCB. James, Jr., added 13 points, while Abdelnassar added nine points and eight rebounds.

The Saints host one more set of doubleheaders with the women this weekend when Faith Baptist Bible College and Emmaus Bible College come to town to close out the regular season.