Minneapolis, MN – (5) North Central University, (6) Crown College, and (7) Bob Jones University all find upset victories to highlight action on day two of the NCCAA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship. The three teams will join the top seed Spurgeon College tomorrow to compete in the semifinals. Semifinal action will begin at 6 p.m. CT on Friday and will be proceeded by a pair of consolation games starting at 2 p.m. CT. Follow all the action here.

Quarterfinal One: #5 North Central University – 91 #4 Champion Christian College - 62

• The defense was stifling for both Champion Christian and North Central early, as it took nearly two minutes for the first bucket to find the net on a Carmello McNeal three. 
• After a slow start offensively, both sides would see the three begin to fall. The two teams combined for seven made threes eight minutes into the game as the Rams held a 20-14 lead. 
• In the final eight minutes of the first half, North Central took advantage of a frantic pace, going on a 7-0 run to go up by double figures. Jax Effertz hit his third three of the game to start the run to highlight the Rams performance. 
• Cam Parker hit a late three for Champion Christian to keep them within striking distance at half trailing 44-35. 
• Jax Effertz did not skip a beat hitting a big three early in the second half for North Central off a great cross court pass from Carmello McNeal. On the next possession Carrington McNeal hit a layup to give the Rams their largest lead of the game of 13, 55-42. 
• The North Central lead continued to grow behind the hot shooting of Carrington McNeal. The senior scored seven straight points to help the Rams go in front by 17. 
• Jayden Livingston would pick the pocket of Champion Christian on the inbound to find Jaquad Adams for an easy lay-in as North Central moved their advantage to 24 with 8:29 to play. Champion Christian would use a timeout moments later to try and slow the Rams run. 
• Champion Christian had no answer in the final eight minutes as North Central would cruise a 91-62 quarterfinal victory behind a 55.1% field goal percentage on their home court. 

Quarterfinal Two: #6 Crown College – 71 #3 Manhattan Christian College - 64

• Early in quarterfinal two of the day, both Manhattan Christian and Crown could not pull away with the largest lead being four going into the media timeout 10 minutes in.  
• Tyler Smith, the dominant rim protector, would do just that in the early going for the Polars, recording an early block while helping hold Manhattan Christian to just 10 points in the first nine minutes of play. Manhattan Christian would finally find some offense though as James Braddy hit a three to put the Thunder in front 15-14 with 10 minutes to play in the first half. 
• Jordan Carter would hit a big layup for Manhattan Christian with 6:02 to play in the first half after some outstanding defense to give them their largest lead of the half at 23-18. 
• The three ball started to fall in the final few minutes of the first half for the Thunder allowing them to balloon their lead to as large as 10. Manhattan Christian led 36-28 at the half. 
• The Crown offense would wake up to start the second half, behind the scoring of Anthony Knight. Knight would hit a layup with 13:09 to play to tie the game at 45. 
• Manhattan Christian immediately responded with a 7-1 run to force Crown into a timeout with the score 52-46. 
• Anthony Knight continued to be the source of the Polars offense, giving Crown their first lead of the second half 57-56 with an and-one at the 4:33 to play mark. 
• Tyler Smith would lock Manhattan Christian down on the other end recording five blocks on the game to keep Crown in front as part of a 12-0 run. The Polars would hold Manhattan Christian to eight points for the final 6:24 of play to secure the 71-64 victory and advance to the semifinals. 

Quarterfinal Three: #1 Spurgeon College – 103 #8 Faith Baptist Bible College - 90

• Faith Baptist Bible kept up with the fast pace of the top-seed Spurgeon early in their quarterfinal matchup. The Eagles saw a three from Logan Fincham give them a 9-7 advantage four minutes into the game. 
• With 11:50 remaining in the first half, Sam Kirkman hit a massive four-point play on a corner three to give Faith Baptist Bible a 26-22 lead. 
• Spurgeon responded right away with a massive 12-0 run highlighted by a pair of Raven Ortiz leak out layups. Faith Baptist Bible would call timeout with the Knights in front 34-26. 
• Spurgeon increased their lead to as large as 18, but Faith Baptist Bible would continue to fight with a 9-0 run to cut it back to single digits. Bishop Duffield would hit a three for Spurgeon at the halftime buzzer, the 21^st made three of the game, to give the Knights a 63-53 lead at the break. 
• Faith Baptist Bible would do a great job slowing the Spurgeon offense to start the second half, holding the Knights to just two field goals in the first five minutes. The Eagles were unable to make up any ground though, hitting just four field goals of their own in the early going of the period. 
• The Spurgeon press started to wear down the eagles later in the second half. The Duffield brothers would score back-to-back field goals to give the Knights the 83-68 edge with 9:21 to play. 
• Mason Gorsh would hit a three for his 30^th point of the game to once again power Faith Baptist Bible back into striking distance, 90-83 with 4:43 to play.
• Raven Ortiz would hit the dagger and-one for Spurgeon with 2:41 to play to put the Knights back in front by 12. The top seed would advance with a 103-90 victory to end Faith Baptist Bible’s tournament run. 

Quarterfinal Four: #7 Bob Jones University - 86 #2 Great Lakes Christian College - 81

• In the final quarterfinal of the day, Bob Jones University picked up right where they left off a day ago with incredibly hot shooting. Justin Skelton scored six of the team’s first 10 points as they took a 10-5 lead. 
• After a timeout, Trae Ruggles would score five straight for Great Lakes Christian to give them their first lead at 16-14. The run forced a Bruin timeout with 14:14 to play in the first half. 
• Great Lakes Christian started to use a press midway through the first half, and it led to success creating easy chances on the offensive end. Lata’Vius Vaughter would hit a circus shot with 6:01 remaining in the half to increase the Crusader lead to seven, their largest of the game, and force Bob Jones into another timeout. 
• After Great Lakes got the lead to as high as nine, Bob Jones would use the three ball to get right back into it going into halftime. The Bruins hit eight first half threes as they trailed 45-42 going into the locker room. 
• The second half opened with both defenses finding their form and forcing turnovers. Neither side could find the stroke as a total of six points were scored in the first three and a half minutes. 
• Trevor Pittman would hit the big bucket with just over 12 minutes to play, recording an and-one to put Bob Jones back in front 57-55. 
• Bob Jones would hold the lead for a little over four minutes before Dame Cochran hit a three to put Great Lakes Christian back in front 69-68. The Bruins immediately took the lead back at the 5:51 to play mark with a pair of free throws. 
• Shad Vander Hart hit the crucial bucket that created separation for the Bruins, scoring a spinning layup to put Bob Jones in front 78-73 with 3:46 to go. Great Lakes continued to attempt the comeback, but Bob Jones had an answer for every Crusader bucket to secure the 86-81 upset and advance to tomorrow’s semifinal. 

Consolation Game: #10 Simmons College of Kentucky – 72 #9 Southwestern Adventist University - 68

• In their final game of the 2026 season, Southwestern Adventist got off to a red-hot start from three, hitting five of their first six to take a 15-6 lead. TJ White would hit two in the run to force Simmons Kentucky into a timeout. 
• Southwestern Adventist would hit their first two-point field goal nearly 10 minutes into the game on a layup from Raheem Oresanya.
• The Knights would shoot better from three than from two in the first half, holding a 36-35 lead at the break after a strong response from Simmons Kentucky. 
• Caleb Franklin hit a three in the second half to give Simmons Kentucky their first lead of the game. Moments later Branden Thomas went coast-to-cast for an and-one that put the Falcons in front 48-44. 
• Simmons Kentucky would hold the lead the remainder of the second half to earn the come from behind 72-68 victory and end their season with a victory. 

About the NCCAA
Established in 1968, the National Christian College Athletic Association uses intercollegiate athletics to further the Great Commission and is committed to equipping student-athletes and coaches to make a positive impact for Christ. The NCCAA currently holds 23 national championship events, along with one national invitational for 88 member schools across 28 states and two Canadian provinces. For more information on the NCCAA, visit our website, thenccaa.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @thenccaa.