The Central Christian men's basketball team put together what was perhaps their most complete game of the season as they knocked off College of the Ozarks, 91-84, on Thursday evening inside the Ferneau Center.

The Saints (5-2) shot 54 percent in the first half and a blistering 60 percent (6-for-10) from 3-point range on their way to a 48-41 lead at the break.

College of the Ozarks (4-8) led early in the game, then the two teams exchanged leads over the next couple of minutes. A 3-pointer by Aaron Douglas at the 12:59 mark broke a 13-13 tie and CCCB never trailed again.

The Bobcats cut into Central Christian's lead early in the second half, making it a 52-50 game with 17:35 left to play. Then the Saints used a 12-4 run to push their margin back up to 10 and went on to lead by as many as 15 at 85-70 with 4:26 remaining in the game.

The Saints ended the night shooting 51 percent from the field, 47 percent (9-for-19) from behind the arc, and 87 percent (20-for-23) from the free throw line. They outrebounded the guests, 42-29.

Trey Black scored a team-high 26 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Jackson King added 19 points and Rodrigo Nunez scored 18. Quincy James scored eight points and dished out six assists.

The Bobcats were led by Blaine Cline with 26 points and Josh Linehan with 20 points.

The Saints play their final home game of the semester when they host Westminster College on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Despite a big early lead, the Central Christian men's basketball team had to battle until the final seconds to finish off Spurgeon College, 81-75, on the road on Monday night.

The Saints (3-1) used a 10-0 run just a few minutes into action to create a 22-9 advantage. They went on to lead 42-27 at the break, but things got interesting in the second half.

Central Christian went on to lead by as many as 16 early in the second half, then Spurgeon (0-4) began to chip away at the deficit. A Braden Chapman 3-pointer with 56 seconds remaining narrowed the Saints' lead to 76-75. 

From there, Central Christian regained control by going 5-for-6 from the free throw line and forcing stops on Spurgeon's final three possessions to close out the game.

Rodrigo Nunez and Trey Black both scored 21 points each to lead the Saints. Nunez also grabbed seven rebounds, while Black hauled in six. Jackson King added another 19 points and seven rebounds.

Central Christian shot 50 percent for the game and 30 percent (6-for-20) from behind the arc. They held Spurgeon to 37 percent shooting and 31 percent from 3-point range.

Jude Warren scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Knights.

The Saints play a pair of games in Minneapolis on Friday and Saturday. They face North Central University on Friday and Oak Hills Christian College on Saturday.

Senior guard Trey Black was named Men's Basketball Division II Student-Athlete of the Week by the National Christian College Athletic Association for his performance against Kansas Christian College on Nov. 9.

The Choctaw, Okla., native scored 15 points, pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds, and had four assists in an 88-78 win over the Falcons.

The Saints are 3-1 overall following another win on Monday night, an 81-75 victory on the road at Spurgeon College. They head to Minnesota on Friday to face North Central University and Oak Hills Christian College as part of a classic at NCU.

Four players reached double figures and another was a point shy of achieving the same feat as the Central Christian men's basketball team knocked off Kansas Christian College, 88-78, on Tuesday evening in the Ferneau Center.

Rodrigo Nunez scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Trey Black, Jackson King and Quincy James all finished with 15 points each for the Saints, who improved to 2-1 on the season. Black recorded a double-double by grabbing a season-high 16 rebounds, while Tyce Laubinger scored nine points and Sam Adams pulled down seven rebounds.

The game was tight through most of the first half until Central Christian used an 11-0 run with 40 seconds remaining before intermission to take control. The Saints never trailed in the second half and led by as many as 11, although the Falcons (1-1) got as close as two with 7:01 left to play.

A 3-pointer by James and four straight made free throws by Nunez and Adams helped fuel a 9-2 surge over the next three-and-a-half minutes to put Central Christian back in control with just 3:43 remaining.

The Saints shot 44 percent from the field, but only 19 percent (4-for-21) from 3-point range. They were a solid 79 percent (22-for-28) from the free throw line, outrebounded the Falcons, 59-36, and outscored their guests in the paint, 50-14.

Kansas Christian shot 33 percent from the field and 32 percent (14-for-44) from behind the arc.

Central Christian is back at home on Thursday when they face Hannibal-LaGrange University at 7 p.m.

The Central Christian men's basketball team nearly led from start to finish in an 85-59 season-opening win over Union College (Neb.) on Thursday night in the Ferneau Center.

The Saints (1-0) got out to a 9-2 lead at the start, but found themselves in a brief 13-13 tie nine minutes into action. A 16-2 spurt over the next five minutes erased all doubt and CCCB remained in full control the rest of the way.

Four players reached double figures for the Saints, led by senior Trey Black's 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Freshman Jackson King scored 14 points in his debut, followed by junior Adris Hamilton with 13 points, and freshman Tyce Laubinger with 11 points and 15 rebounds.

Central Christian ended the night with 23 steals and forced 31 turnovers out of the Warriors (0-3). The Saints also accumulated 25 assists on 35 made baskets. They held their largest lead of the night at 71-40 midway through the second half.

Union was led by Tanner Forde with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The Saints return to action on Tuesday night when they host Lincoln Christian University at 7 p.m. in the second game of a doubleheader with the women's team.