The Central Christian College men's basketball team improved on their NCCAA Division II-leading field goal percentages and racked up a season-best 34 assists in a 109-74 route of Saint Louis Christian College on Tuesday night at the Ferneau Center.

The Saints (9-8) came out of the gates at a modest pace, but used a 14-2 run midway through the first half to distance themselves from the visiting Soldiers. The early spurt gave Central Christian a 27-15 advantage with 9:30 remaining in the half, a lead they would eventually increase to 55-33 at the break.

CCCB stayed in control througout the remainder of the game, shooting 66 percent in the second half and going on to lead by as many as 37. It was the Saints' third straight win and sixth in their last seven games.

Everyone on the Central Christian roster scored and five reached double figures. Jesse Granados led the way with a game-high 27 points and eight rebounds.

Kedron Rollings added 16 points, while Jaime Rodriguez added 15 points and five steals. Josh Crawford scored 12 points and Alex Gibler added 11.

Saint Louis Christian was led by Marcus Lamb with 24 points and Shaunteze Sanders with 13 rebounds.

For the game, the Saints shot 58 percent from the field and 61 percent (11-for-18) from behind the arc. Additionally, they outrebounded SLCC, 46-28, and recorded nine steals. Saint Louis Christian shot just 39 percent in the first half and 42 percent for the game.

On the season, the Saints lead the NCCAA D-II in three offensive categories: field goal percentage (50.3), 3-point field goal percentage (42.8), and assists per game (19.6).

Next up for Central Christian is a pair of conference games this weekend in Iowa. They travel Ankeny to face Faith Baptist Bible College on Friday at 8 p.m., and to Dubuque on Saturday to take on Emmaus Bible College at 4 p.m.

Coming off an embarassing road loss two weeks ago in Dubuque, Iowa, the Saints needed little motivation in their final game of the regular season.

A determined Central Christian College men's basketball team earned its third straight victory and avenged a previous 54-point loss with a 114-89 victory over Emmaus Bible College in an electric Ferneau Center on Saturday.

The win earned Central Christian (13-12, 6-2 Midwest Christian College Conference) a share of the league title for the first time in men's basketball history. Barclay College and Emmaus also finished with a pair of losses in MCCC play, creating a three-way tie for the championship.

It was a 79-point turnaround for the Saints from their loss to the Eagles (9-13, 6-2 MCCC) on Jan. 27. Central Christian led from start to finish, needing only 4:45 of play to build a 17-11 lead.

The Saints led by as many as 16 in the first half and took a 58-45 advantage into the locker room. Emmaus narrowed the gap to seven with 15:14 remaining, but Central Christian responded with a 16-3 run over the next five minutes to make it 85-65 and put the game out of reach.

Central Christian matched their season-high for assists with 34. They sank 13 of their 26 3-point attempts, and shot 64 percent from the field.

Jesse Granados led five Saints who reached double figures. Granados scored 26 points after going 11-for-16 from the field, while Josh Crawford recorded a triple-double of 15 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.

Jaime Rodriguez added 24 points for Central Christian, followed by Micah Miller going 6-for-6 from the field with 16 points, and Chandler Gheen scoring 13. Kedron Rollings reached double figures in assists with 10.

Nathan Davidson led Emmaus with 26 points and eight rebounds. Steven Horan scored 15 points and two others added 13 points each.

The Saints finished the regular season winning three straight conference games in convincing fashion. They jumped out to a 55-31 halftime advantage on their way to a 89-75 win at Calvary on Tuesday. At home on Thursday, Central Christian defeated Faith Baptist Bible, 90-56.

Following MCCC tiebreaker procedures, the Saints received the No. 1 seed for this week's MCCC Tournament in Manhattan, Kan. They will play the winner of No. 4 seed Manhattan Christian College and No. 5 seed Ozark Christian College on Friday at 8 p.m.

For more information on this year's MCCC Tournament, download the 2018 MCCC Tournament brackets: Men's Bracket | Women's Bracket.

It was not the result the Saints wanted, but a rare feat nonethless.

After falling to Ozark Christian College on Friday in the semifinals of the Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament, the Central Christian College men's basketball team topped Calvary University, 76-75, on Saturday for their highest finish in the event since 1982, when CCCB also finished third.

The top-seeded Saints were MCCC regular season co-champions with Barclay College and Emmaus Bible College. It was a rough tournament for all three co-champions as No. 3 seed Emmaus lost to No. 6 seed Calvary in the opening round, while Central Christian lost to No. 5 seed Ozark Christian, 72-65, in the semifinals. Ozark Christian went on to knock off No. 2 seed Barclay, 76-70, on Saturday to win the championship.

Central Christian (14-13) wasn't quite themselves on Friday as the NCCAA Division II leaders in field goals and 3-point field goals shot just 39 percent from the field and 12 percent (3-for-25) from 3-point range against Ozark Christian. Despite the low shooting numbers, the Saints still had their chances thanks to the Ambassadors shooting just 36 percent and 6 percent (1-for-16) from the outside.

The game saw five ties and 12 lead changes with Ozark leading by as many as 10 in the first half and Central Christian leading by eight with 14 minutes to play in the second.

Kedron Rollings and Jaimes Rodriguez led the Saints with 17 points each.

Bryce Money and Tanner Moore scored 15 points each to lead Ozark Christian.

On Saturday, Central Christian took the lead early and remained in control until an 11-2 run by Calvary in the final minute made things interesting.

Leading 74-64 with 1:10 reamining, the Warriors made four 3-pointers and a layup while the Saints made just two of seven free throw attempts. With 11 seconds to go Calvary's Jay Lems nailed the final of four straights 3s to make it a one point game, but Central Christian got the ball in bounds and ran out the clock to seal the win.

Jesse Granados led the Saints with 19 points while going 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Jaime Rodriguez added 18 points and Micah Miller had 14. Josh Crawford pulled down a season-high 12 rebounds.

The Saints shot below their average for the second day-in-a-row at 39 percent, but recorded nine steals on the defensive end and forced 16 Calvary turnovers. Central Christian committed only four turnovers for the game.

The third place finish was just the third overall and the fourth top-three finish in men's basketball history for the Saints in the 55-year history of the MCCC Tournament. A week ealier they became regular season co-champions for the first time in program history. CCCB has never won the MCCC Tournament on the men's basketball side.

On Friday, three Saints earned all-conference honors. Josh Crawford was named to the second team, while Granados and Rollings were first team selections.

The Saints' postseason continues on Thursday when they travel to Joplin, Mo., for the NCCAA Division II Southwest Region Tournament. Central Christian is seeded sixth and will face the No. 3 seed Arlington Baptist University at 2 p.m.