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.

The Saints got a breakout performance from freshman Andre Johnson, who scored a career-high 26 points in his first career start, as seventh-ranked Central Christian College of the Bible broke away from a tied game at half to defeat Ozark Christian College, 89-73, on Saturday at OCC.

Central Christian (6-3, 1-0 MCCC) trailed the entire first half, but kept things close enough that a Kedron Rollings 3-pointer just before the buzzer knotted the score at 39-apiece at halftime.

With the score tied again at 43 just two minutes into the second half, the Saints went on a 6-0 run and never trailed again. Ozark Christian (6-6, 0-1 MCCC) got within two points a minute later, but Central Christian answered with an 11-3 surge and later went on to lead by as many as 18.

Johnson scored 13 points in each half and finished 12-for-14 from the field for his game high. He also hauled down nine rebounds and dished out six assists.

Trey Black went 5-for-9 from behind the arc and scored 18 points, followed by Andrew Johnson with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Clifford Detiege with 13 points and eight rebounds.

The Saints shot just 42 percent from the field and 31 percent from outside in the first half, but heated up to 64 percent overall and 43 percent from 3-point range in the second half. Meanwhile, they held the Ambassadors to 38 percent and 29 percent respectively after intermission.

Deion Clark led Ozark Christian with 20 points. Nicholas Sarin scored 12 points, while Miles Dressler and David Stinson added 11 points each.

The Saints play one final game before breaking for Christmas when they travel to Liberty, Mo., on Friday, Dec. 13, to take on William Jewell College in exhibition play.

Despite an off shooting night, Central Christian College of the Bible had five players reach double figures in an 87-84 victory over Calvary University on Thursday in the Ferneau Center.

Trey Black scored 19 points, while Josh Crawford scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. Rodrigo Nuñez added 14 points, Andre Johnson scored 12 and Anthony Johnson had 10 for Central Christian, who improved to 4-3 on the season.

The Saints needed only six minutes to take a 19-9 lead, then pushed the margin up to 30-15 with 11:05 to play in the first half. With 5:09 remaining in the half and Central Christian still holding a 15-point advantage, Calvary used an 18-7 run to make it a 42-39 game at the break.

It went back and forth in the second half with the Saints threatening to pull away multiple times, but the Warriors battled back to take a 68-67 lead with 6:01 remaining. Central Christian answered with a 7-0 run and went on to take an eight-point lead with 13 seconds left.

Two quick 3-pointers sandwiched around a Crawford made free throw made it a three point game with 1.3 on the clock. The Saints were able to get the ball inbound under pressure and run out the final seconds.

Central Christian shot 49 percent from the field, but went 18 percent (3-for-17) from behind the arc. They outrebounded their guests, 38-37, went 24-for-31 at the free throw line, and forced 20 Calvary turnovers.

Calvary was led by Zeb Green with 24 points and Jay Lems with 19. The Warriors shot 48 percent from the field, 37 percent (10-for-27) from 3-point range, and 8-for-11 at the free throw line.

The Saints are back in action tonight when they take on the University of Missouri-St. Louis in exhibition play at 7 p.m. Tomorrow night they travel to Macomb, Ill., to face Western Illinois in an exhibition at 7 p.m.

A Rodrigo Nuñez basket underneath with 3.2 seconds remaining gave Central Christian College of the Bible a 93-91 victory over Westminster College at Historic Gymnasium on Monday night.

Central Christian (3-1) rallied back from a 52-44 halftime deficit and led by as many as five with 3:06 left to play. Westminster (0-1) tied it up at 91-apiece with 30 seconds remaining, and the Saints had possession for the last shot.

The Saints worked the clock down until Nuñez' game-winning score, then defended a last-second 3-point attempt by the Bluejays as time expired.

The game featured nine ties and nine lead changes. Central Christian also led by five with seven minutes remaining in the first half, but Westminster heated up from outside and later finished the half on a 17-9 run.

The Saints shot 53 percent in the first half, but were just 1-for-8 from behind the arc. Meanwhile, the Bluejays were 7-for-14 from 3-point range in the first half, but managed to hit only three of their 14 attempts after the break.

Central Christian went 5-for-7 from long range in the second half, all coming from Trey Black who scored a game-high 23 points. As a team, they shot 62 percent from the field after halftime and sank eight of their 10 free throw attempts.

Clifford Detiege went 8-for-10 from the field and finished with 21 points to help the Saints' cause, while Josh Crawford scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists. Andrew Johnson chipped in another 10 points on a 5-for-7 night from the field.

Westminster was led by Jaxon Althaus with 22 points. Landon Harrison added 16 points and Omar Wright scored 13. The Bluejays shot 49 percent from the field and 36 percent (10-for-28) from 3-point range.

Central Christian is off until Friday when they host Baptist Bible College. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. following the conclusion of the Saints women's basketball game against Cottey College.

With the score knotted at 87-apiece, a foul on a rebound with 0.5 seconds remaining was costly for the Saints.

The Highlanders sank one of two free throw attempts and batted away the ensuing full-court pass as MacMurray College topped Central Christian College of the Bible, 88-87, on Saturday at Bill Wall Gymnasium.

The Saints (2-1) couldn't hang on to a 10-point advantage with 8:18 left to play. The Highlanders (1-0) slowly chipped away, tying the score at 87 with 53 seconds left.

A turnover by the Saints on the other end gave MacMurray a chance to take their first lead since the 14:56 mark of the second half, but Andrew Johnson drew a charge on the Highlanders' Blake Drue on a drive to the basket for his fifth foul of the contest.

With 10 seconds remaining, the Saints inbounded the ball to Rollings, who drove the length of the floor and shot a runner in the lane that ended up just short. The ball was tipped around until Camron Jamison grabbed the rebound and was fouled simultaneously by Gabriel Martinez, resulting in the final two free throws of the night.

The Saints threatened to run away with the game on several occasions. They took a 23-14 lead seven minutes into action only to see the Highlanders, an NCAA Division III program, fight back and grab a 51-45 lead at halftime.

Central Christian needed just the first two minutes of the second half to tie the game at 56-apiece, then used a 19-8 run midway through the period to take their largest lead of the night at 79-69.

Foul trouble was detrimental to the Saints's cause throughout the game. Central Christian committed a total 31 fouls as MacMurray shot 39 free throws.

Trey Black led all scorers with 29 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field and 5-for-8 from behind the arc, but played only 23 minutes before fouling out. Rodrigo Nunez, who led Central Christian in rebounds with eight, also fouled out. Three other Saints finished the game with four fouls each.

Josh Crawford went 8-for-12 from the field and tossed in 16 points. Andre Johnson came off the bench to score 13 points, and Rollings added 11.

The Saints shot 53 percent from the field and 40 percent (6-for-15) from 3-point range, but made only 17 of their 28 free throw attempts.

Trevor Voss led the Highlanders with 22 points. Logan Dorethy and Drue scored 18 apiece, with Dorethy also grabbing 16 rebounds.

Central Christian will take on a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponent for the second straight game when they travel to Fulton, Mo., on Monday to take on Westminster College. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.