Central Christian College of the Bible put its offensive firepower on full display for the third straight day as it hit 11 first-half 3-pointers on its way to a 94-69 victory over Calvary University in the third place game of the Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament on Saturday.

The fifth-seeded Saints (13-14) trailed 17-14 after the Warriors' Ben Jones nailed a 3-pointer with 11:21 remaining in the first half. Capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Cameron Brooks, Central Christian answered with an 18-0 run in three-and-a-half minutes of play to take a 32-17 lead against the tournament's second seed.

The Saints would go on to extend the lead to 21 a couple of times in the first half, including a 51-30 lead at the break, and cruised to their second straight third-place finish in the tournament.

Trey Black, who was announced as a first team all-conference selection the night before, scored 21 points to lead Central Christian. Josh Crawford was the Saints' other all-conference selection as an honorable mention.

Cameron Brooks scored 14 points on 3-for-4 shooting from behind the arc, while Caleif Gregg scored 13 points. Jaime Rodriguez chipped in another 12 points to go along with four steals, followed by Caleb Kendrick with 11 points.

Central Christian fought back from a 15-point deficit to force overtime in a 106-99 win over fourth seed Barclay College on Thursday in the quarterfinals. On Friday, they lost to top seed Ozark Christian, 103-95, in the semifinals after clawing their way back from a 22-point deficit.

The Saints started their comeback on Friday in the final 1:34 of the first half using an 11-0 run that culminated with an off-balance 3-pointer by Black right before the halftime buzzer to make it 56-47. They continued their run into the second half by scoring the first four points after the break, but again found themselves down 14 with 16:30 left in the game.

Another run, this time a 15-3 surge, tied the game at 68-apiece, then the Saints traded one-point leads with the Ambassadors for the next several minutes.

The Saints trailed by two with 24 seconds remaining, but two made free throws and a putback by Bryce Money on a missed free throw made it a six-point margin in a matter of one second.

Central Christian, the NCCAA Division II leader in 3-point field goal percentage at 39 percent, went 19-for-40 (48 percent) from behind the arc, outshooting their overall field goal percentage for the third straight game.

Rodriguez led the way with 22 points after going 6-for-10 from 3-point range. Black scored another 20 points, while Gregg added 16 points, Rodrigo Nunez had 15 and Kedron Rollings another 11.

Bryce Money, who was named the MCCC's Most Valuable Player prior to the game, scored 33 points to lead all scorers.

Ozark Christian went on to win in the championship game of the tournament with a 78-77 victory over third-seeded Manhattan Christian.

The Saints begin Southwest Regional Tournament play on Thursday in Arlington, Texas, when they take on second-ranked and three-time defending national champion Randall University. Game time is set for 1 p.m.

The Saints trailed for nearly all of the first 40 minutes, then made a furious late rally to force overtime and controlled the extra five minutes.

The 2019 Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament opened in thrilling fashion as fifth-seeded Central Christian College of the Bible knocked off fourth-seeded Barclay College, 106-99, in the quarterfinals on Thursday. 

Central Christian (12-13) trailed 74-62 with 5:54 remaining. A barrage of 3-pointers and two clutch free throws by Kedron Rollings with 58 seconds left allowed the Saints to tie the game for the first time since the 15:00 mark of the first half.

The Saints needed a Rollings layup with 10 seconds to go to tie it again, then forced a turnover on Barclay's final possession which sent the game to overtime.

In the extra period, Central Christian hit their next five shots, including 3-for-3 from behind the arc, to take full control. In the final 5:54 of regulation and the five minutes of overtime, the Saints outscored the Bears, 44-25.

Led by Trey Black with 18 points and nine rebounds, the Saints finished the night with six players scoring in double figures. Rollings scored 17 points after going 11-for-14 from the free throws line.

Caleb Kendrick added 15 points, followed by Caleif Gregg with 12, Jaime Rodriguez with 11 and Rodrigo Nunez with 10. Josh Crawford led the Saints in rebounds with 10.

Central Christian went 17-for-37 (46 percent) from 3-point range and shot 43 percent overall.

Barclay (9-16) also had six players reach double figures, led by Tre Conley's game-high 25 points.

The Saints advance to the semifinals to take on top seed Ozark Christian College on Friday at 3 p.m. Central Christian defeated Ozark Christian, 94-87, on Jan. 10, but lost on a buzzer-beater to the Ambassadors, 92-91, on Feb. 2.

A night after scoring a school-record number of points, the Saints had to grind for their second win on the road trip.

Central Christian College of the Bible outscored Emmaus Bible College 8-1 in the final 2:15 of regulation to hang on for an 86-76 victory in Midwest Christian College Conference play on Saturday in the final game of the regular season.

The game was back-and-forth in the early going until Central Christian (11-13, 3-3 MCCC) used an 8-0 spurt midway through the first half to take a 24-13 lead with 9:22 left to play. They went on to lead by as many as 17, but held a 46-35 advantage at the break.

Emmaus Bible (2-21, 1-5 MCCC) got as close as one on several occasions in the second half, but never regained the lead.

The Saints shot an impressive 13-for-23 (57 percent) from behind the 3-point line and 47 percent from the field. They had 17 assists and just seven turnovers, while finishing with 11 steals.

Caleif Gregg and Trey Black both hit three 3s and scored 16 points each to lead the way. Kedron Rollings added 13 points, while Rodrigo Nunez scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Caleb Kendrick came off the bench to score 12 points.

Stevie Horan led the Eagles with 17 points and 15 rebounds.

On Friday evening, Central Christian scored 75 points in the first half of their way to a 123-81 win over Faith Baptist Bible College. The 123 points bested the 121 scored against Calvary Bible College on January 12, 2016.

Four Saints scored 20 or more points, led by Gregg's game-high 26. Black finished with 22 points, followed by Josh Crawford with 21 and Nunez with 20.

Central Christian, who led 75-42 at halftime, went 12-for-24 from behind the arc and shot 57 percent from the field.

The Saints now turn their attention to the MCCC Tournament, which begins on Thursday at Calvary University in Kansas City. The bracket and pairings for the tournament will be released on Sunday.

The Saints were able to shake an abysmal start and turn it into perhaps their best team performance of the season.

After staring at a 14-0 deficit just four minutes into play, it was the bench who ignited a fire that resulted in Central Christian College of the Bible's 100-68 win over Calvary University on Tuesday in Midwest Christian College Conference play inside the Ferneau Center.

After a quick lineup change, Central Christian (9-11, 2-2 MCCC) closed the gap to 19-12 at the 13:37 mark, then tied the game at 21-apiece midway through the first half using what eventually became a 21-7 run.

The Saints were firing on all cylinders from there on out as they went on runs of 48-25 to close out the last 16 minutes of the first half, and outscored the Warriors, 52-29, after the break.

Led by Trey Black's 23 points and nine rebounds, five Saints reached double figures. Caleif Gregg, Gabriel Martinez and Jaime Rodriguez each scored 14 points, while Josh Crawford scored 10 points and dished out 11 assists to just one turnover.

It was the first conference loss for Calvary (7-9, 3-1 MCCC), who was led by Zeb Green with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Central Christian shot 49 percent from the field and 41 percent (15-for-37) from behind the arc. They finished with 26 assists on 11 turnovers, forced Calvary into 26 turnovers, and outrebounded the Warriors, 38-35.

The Saints have a day off before hosting eighth-ranked Arlington Baptist University in a Southwest Region matchup on Thursday at 7 p.m.

A determined Saints lineup used a 15-2 run to start the second half as Central Christian College of the Bible defeated Emmaus Bible College, 97-75, on Saturday in the Ferneau Center.

Central Christian (8-11) ended a four-game losing skid in what was the first of four straight home games. Although the game was a matchup of two Midwest Christian College Conference foes, it did not count toward the conference standings. The Eagles (0-19) will host the Saints on Feb. 9 for the conference tilt.

Jaime Rodriguez scored 20 points to lead five Saints in double figures. Trey Black was an efficient 7-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range, as he scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Caleif Gregg scored 14 points, Josh Crawford added 12 points and Gabriel Martinez had 11 to round out the scoring for the Saints. Rodrigo Nunez led Central Christian with 11 rebounds.

The Saints led 17-8 just four minutes into the contest, but Emmaus Bible answered with a 15-6 run to tie things up midway through the first half. The two teams finished out the half trading leads, and the Eagles scored with a second remaining to take a 42-41 advantage into the locker room.

Emmaus Bible got as close as three in the second half, but the Saints responded again to push the margin back up to 15 over the ensuing five minutes. The Saints shot 57 percent in the second half while holding the Eagles to 36 percent.

Overall, Central Christian shot 51 percent from the field and 46 percent (13-for-28) from 3-point range. They outrebounded the guests, 52-42, and recorded 25 assists to their 13 turnovers.

Emmaus Bible shot 40 percent for the game and 26 percent (5-for-19) from behind the arc. The Eagles committed 18 turnovers.

The Saints are at home again on Tuesday when they host Calvary University in an MCCC matchup at 7 p.m.