The Saints weren't able to overcome a poor performance at the free throw line in their opening game of the Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament on Thursday, but they battled back with a pair of wins and claimed the consolation trophy on Saturday at Ozark Christian College.

Central Christian (13-15), seeded third, went 15-for-29 at the free throw line in a 77-74 quarterfinal loss to No. 6 seed Calvary University on Thursday. In a game where they led by seven in the first half and then trailed by 12 with 6:25 to play, the missed opportunities at the charity stripe led to the Saints' lowest point total in nearly three weeks.

On Friday, Central Christian defeated seventh-seeded Emmaus Bible College, 90-70, then downed No. 5 seed Ozark Christian College, 80-77, on Saturday in the consolation game.

In Saturday's game, the Saints avenged a four-point overtime loss to the Ambassadors a week earlier. Trey Black scored 28 points, his second-highest point total of the season, after going 9-for-16 from the field and 6-for-8 from 3-point range.

Andrew Johnson added another 13 points while going 5-for-5 from the field, and Josh Crawford scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

On Friday, two Saints earned All-MCCC honors. Clifford Detiege was named to the second team, while Andre Johnson was a first team selection.

Calvary went on to defeat second-seeded Barclay College, 91-88, in overtime of their semifinal matchup. Fourth-seeded Faith Baptist Bible College also advanced to the championship after knocking off Ozark Christian and top seed Manhattan Christian College. Faith edged Calvary in the title game, 61-60.

The Saints now travel to Ellendale, N.D., for the NCCAA Division II North Region Tournament at Trinity Bible College. Central Christian is the No. 3 seed and faces the hosts at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Tenth-ranked Central Christian College of the Bible recovered from a sluggish start, erasing an early 14-point deficit in a 90-86 Midwest Christian College Conference victory at Calvary University on Tuesday.

The Saints (9-8, 3-1 MCCC) watched as the hosts built an 18-4 lead just five minutes into play. Central Christian turned up the pressure and narrowed the gap to four just a few minutes later, but a made 3-pointer by Calvary's Jay Lems had the Warriors up 27-18 with 10:10 left in the half.

The Saints responded by using a 19-3 run over the next six minutes to match their largest lead of the half at 37-32, before eventually taking a 46-43 advantage into the locker room.

Calvary (9-9, 2-4 MCCC) used a 7-0 run to start the second half, but Central Christian again answered with a 12-2 run of their own to regain the lead. The second half saw both teams exchange leads several more times before Kedron Rollings scored a layup to break an 83-83 tie and give the Saints a two-point lead with 3:08 remaining.

From there Central Christian forced stops on five of Calvary's final six possessions to seal the win.

Andre Johnson scored 22 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Saints. Rollings tossed in another 16 points while going a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc. Trey Black added 15 points and Clifford Detiege pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

Braydon Unruh scored 25 points to lead Calvary, while Zeb Green addded 17 points and nine rebounds.

The Saints, who have now won back-to-back games after a four-game skid, return home for the rest of their regular season schedule. They host seventh-ranked Manhattan Christian College on Friday at 7:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the women.

Playing shorthanded since returning from Christmas break, fatigue may have been a factor in the last four games for the Saints. By simply watching the CCCB men in second half on Tuesday, however, it would have been hard to believe that they were playing with just six players.

In what was perhaps their most impressive run of the season, Central Christian College of the Bible erased a 21-point halftime deficit before falling short in overtime of a 90-79 loss to Kansas Christian College at Cowen Memorial Auditorium.

Despite the loss, the eighth-ranked Saints (7-6) found a bit of momentum as they begin to grow their roster back to full strength.

The Saints were sloppy and sluggish in the early going and faced a 50-29 deficit at halftime. They came out with a renewed focus in the second half, scoring the first 15 points after intermission and using a 28-7 run in the first nine minutes to knot the score at 57-apiece.

Central Christian went on to take a 74-70 lead on a Clifford Detiege post move with 1:58 left to play, but nine seconds later Detiege was called for his fifth foul and was forced to take a seat.

Leading 77-75, the Saints corralled a Falcons miss with 10 seconds to go, but a costly turnover gave the ball back to the Falcons. A foul with 2.1 remaining put Kansas Christian's Elijah Ransom at the free throw line, where he sank both shots to force overtime.

The Falcons (9-6), who spent several weeks previously in the NCCAA DII Top 10, took full control in the overtime period, outscoring the Saints, 13-2.

Central Christian senior Josh Crawford had a breakout performance, scoring game-highs of 31 points and 16 rebounds. He also dished out eight assists, while Andre Johnson scored 17 points and Kedron Rollings added 14.

The Saints shot 61 percent in the second half and 51 percent overall. They held Kansas Christian to 29 percent shooting in the second half and 39 percent for the game.

The Saints will now begin to get their depth back this weekend as five players return to the lineup through the next three games. They play a pair of games in Kansas this weekend, at Barclay College on Friday night and at Manhattan Christian College on Saturday.