Point Lookout, M.O. – Quarterfinal play opened at the 2026 NCCAA DI Men’s Basketball National Championship, with #3 Lancaster Bible College, #4 Columbia International University, #7 Nelson American Indian College, and #8 College of the Ozarks taking home first round victories on Wednesday, March 18.
 
Game One: #3 Lancaster Bible College 89, #6 Clinton College 87
 
A game winning layup from Camden Hurst with six seconds remaining pushed #3 Lancaster Bible College to an 89-87 win over #6 Clinton College to open quarterfinal play.

• Lancaster Bible was charged up early, as Nile Austin and Connor Storr drained a pair of threes and layups from Daniel King and Landon Zeiset swelled the Charger lead to 12-4 with 16:27 left in the first half.
• Jordan Snipes Campbell started a run for Clinton, as he found Nathaniel Pruitt inside for a dunk, before Cori Miller nailed a contested layup and then drilled a corner three to cut the LBC lead to 16-15. Trey Grube and Austin connected on three makes from beyond the arc, but another three from Miller and a jumper from Snipes Campbell put Clinton ahead 26-25 halfway through the opening stanza.
• Makes from Kipp Richvine and Snipes Campbell pushed the Golden Bear lead to 35-30, but Grube got hot from deep, hitting four straight shots from beyond the arc in just over two minutes to put Lancaster Bible back ahead 42-37. The Charger defense held Clinton without a make from the field for the final 3:15 of the first half, and Lancaster Bible took a 48-40 lead into the locker room at halftime.
•  Clinton closed the gap to open the second half, as Marion Hopkins went on a 6-0 scoring run by himself to cut the LBC lead to 48-46. Storr answered the run with an emphatic slam off an assist from Camden Hurst, and a Hurst three-ball put the Chargers back ahead 56-50 with 15:45 left in the contest.
• The two sides traded buckets for a bit, with a Grube three being answered by a pair of makes from deep by Jaquise Richmond and Daquan Amlett for Clinton to cut the lead to 64-62 with 11:50 remaining. Snipes Campbell continued to be a sharp shooter for the Golden Bears, converting an and-one chance and nailing a triple, before a second and-one connection from the sophomore and a three-ball from Amlett put Clinton ahead 73-68 with 8:27 left in the game.
• A triple from Miller put the Bears ahead by six late, but Lancaster Bible battled back, and a make from the free throw line by Hurst tied the contest 82-82 with 1:58 left. Snipes Campbell and Hurst answered each other with a pair of layups, before a corner three by Austin put the Chargers up 87-84 with 1:08 remaining. Blake Gascoigne responded for Clinton with 32 seconds left to tie it, but Hurst drove into the lane for the tough layup, putting Lancaster Bible up 89-87 with six seconds remaining. Pruitt’s chance to tie fell short at the horn, and LBC held on for the 89-87 win.
• Hurst finished with 16 points for the Chargers, while his teammate Grube scored 18 points off the bench, making six three-pointers. Snipes Campbell led all scorers with 21 for Clinton, while also adding two assists.

Game Two: #7 Nelson American Indian College 80, #2 Hannibal-LaGrange University 75
 
A strong second half surge and 45 combined points from Orlando Gonzales and Zoe Holman pushed #7 Nelson American Indian College to the 80-75 upset over #2 Hannibal-LaGrange University.

• Nelson AIC came out firing, as buckets from Zoe Holman, Orlando Gonzales and Wyatt MacKay put the Warriors up 6-0. Hannibal-LaGrange answered with a 7-0 outburst of their own, as a pair of shots from Ian McDonald and a three-ball from Kell Estep put the Trojans on top 7-6. Both sides traded buckets, before a jumper from McDonald and a make from deep by Davaughn Hueitt pushed the Trojan lead to 25-17 halfway through the first frame.
• Gonzales connected twice from downtown to get the Warriors back in the contest, but another McDonald make put Hannibal-LaGrange back ahead by three. Gonzales and Estep traded buckets, and a jumper from Gonzales put Nelson AIC in front 38-35 late in the first half. The Trojans would find some points at the free throw line, and a McDonald layup put HLGU up 40-39 at the break.
• Nelson AIC came out on fire in the second half, as a Holman layup gave the Warriors the lead back, before shots from Gonzales, Holman and Calvin Windley put Nelson AIC on top 49-44 early in the second frame. Hannibal-LaGrange began to claw back, as makes from Talton and McDonald narrowed the gap, before Estep tied the contest 53-53 with a triple. The Warriors responded, as a Gonzales jumper and a fastbreak score from Wyatt MacKay put Nelson AIC back on top 57-53 with 12:02 remaining.
• The Warriors continued to rattle off points, as Jermaine Earnest went on a 7-0 run by himself, nailing a three and catching an alley oop lob from Gonzales to push the Nelson AIC lead to 67-56. The Trojans responded with an oop of their own to Hueitt, and a trey from McDonald cut the lead down to six, before a Windley jumper pushed the Warriors up 69-61 with 7:32 left in the contest.
• The Trojans continued to battle back, as a McDonald three and a jumper from Hueitt put HLGU down four, but a Windley make from three and a Gonzales layup pushed the Nelson-AIC lead back to 78-72 with 1:48 remaining. Estep nailed a triple with 1:14 remaining to make it a three-point game, but a shot from the Trojans rimmed out, and Holman drilled a pair of free throws to give the Warriors the 80-75 win.
• Gonzales led the Warriors with 24 points and added three rebounds and three assists, while Holman stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, five rebounds, five steals and two assists. Despite the loss, McDonald scored 25 points for Hannibal-LaGrange and added four rebounds. 

Game Three: #4 Columbia International University 91, #5 Ohio Christian University 90
 
A last second three-pointer by Will Kelly capped a furious second half rally, as #4 Columbia International University knocked off #5 Ohio Christian University 91-90.

• Both squads came out on fire from the field, with Will Kelly and Caleb Schmelzer answering three-point makes from each other, before JJ Vaughan nailed three straight shots from beyond the arc to put Columbia International ahead 16-9 less than five minutes into the contest. Jumpers from Schmelzer and Parker Penrod cut the CIU lead down to three, and another layup by Schmelzer had Ohio Christian down just 18-17 halfway through the first half.
• Vaughan continued to score at will for the Rams, tallying a 10-2 run by himself to put CIU ahead 28-19, connecting on two more triples. A jumper from DJ Bogay got OCU back into the game, before a Sammy Detweiler triple cut the CIU lead to 30-25. Both teams would trade free throws, and then the two traded makes from three, as Vaughan hit his sixth make from deep with 11 seconds left in the opening frame, before Detweiler answered with a buzzer beating shot from downtown, and both teams went into halftime with a 43-36 lead for Columbia International.
• The pace stayed frenetic in the second half, with the two sides trading buckets, punctuated by a slam dunk from Johnny Whysong to put CIU ahead 51-45. After another three from Vaughan, Ohio Christian answered, as three-balls from Bogay and Penrod tied the contest 54-54, before a jumper from Bogay and a layup by Landon Brewer pushed the Trailblazers ahead 61-58 with 11:30 remaining in the game.
• The Trailblazers continued to push the pace, as quick buckets from Bogay and Penrod put OCU on top 65-60 with 10:00 left in the contest. Vaughan responded for the Rams with a slicing pass to James Davis to cut the Ohio Christian lead to one, but Travis Easterly Jr. and Penrod scored a pair of quick buckets to push the Trailblazers ahead 75-68. 
• A three-ball from Penrod put the Trailblazers up 10, but CIU battled back, as buckets from Will Kelly and Jeffrey Clark II cut the OCU lead to five. An and-one play for Davis cut the deficit to four, and two makes from the field for Vaughan had CIU down 90-88 with 12 seconds left. Vaughan missed a shot with seven seconds left, but Clark II hauled down the rebound and found an open Kelly behind the arc, who drained the game-winning three-pointer with 1.6 seconds left in the contest, and Columbia International completed the comeback with a 91-90 win. 
• Vaughan finished the game with 36 points and eight makes from three, one shy of tying the NCCAA DI Men’s Basketball National Championship record. Despite the loss, Penrod scored 33 points for Ohio Christian, while his teammate Schmelzer scored 23 points and had 9 rebounds.

Game Four: #8 College of the Ozarks 92, #1 Bethel University 80
 
Eighth-seeded College of the Ozarks shot 51.7% from the field as Garrett Snyder and Andrew Dalton combined for 55 points, leading the Bobcats to the 92-80 upset win over #1 Bethel University. 

• The feeling out process began early between the two foes, with Austin Cripe and Jay Baxter trading threes for both sides, before a jumper from Garrett Snyder and a layup from Themba Tshuma put College of the Ozarks ahead 15-14 early in the first half. The two sides continued to go back-and-forth, with a pair of Snyder layups answered by two straight makes for Carter Kent, before a Beau Jacquay dunk put Bethel ahead 25-24 with 8:54 left in the first half. 
• College of the Ozarks started to get hot late in the opening frame, as Baxter and Andrew Dalton made a pair of shots from deep, before a Snyder layup put the Bobcats in front 38-34. Snyder added another to swell the CofO lead to seven, but a Colin Comer triple right before the break helped Bethel cut into the deficit, and the Pilots trailed 45-41 going into the locker room.
• The Bobcats responded well to open the second half, as DJ Quarles nailed a jumper from beyond the arc to push the CofO lead to 50-43, but Jacquay answered with four straight points to cut the ‘Cats lead to just three early in the second half. The law office of Tshuma, Snyder and Baxter added a trio of jumpers to pull away, and a three-ball from Dalton swelled the CofO advantage to 60-51 with 13:20 left in the game. Snyder continued to pour it on for College of the Ozarks, adding an and-one conversion to push the Bobcats ahead 65-54 halfway through the second half.
• Comer connected on another triple to cut the Bobcat lead down to five, but again, it was Snyder coming up big for College of the Ozarks, drilling a trey to put the ‘Cats back up 70-62 with 9:10 remaining in the game. The run continued for the Bobcats, as Tyler Moore connected on a hoop and harm, while Snyder poured in another jumper. A breakaway slam from Baxter and a layup from Quarles continued to help CofO pull away, as the Bobcats took an 83-72 lead with 3:00 remaining. A layup from Carter Kent was all Bethel could get at the end, as College of the Ozarks nailed nine straight free throws to polish off the upset with the 92-80 victory.
• Snyder led the way for College of the Ozarks with 33 points, six assists and four rebounds along with two steals, while Dalton scored 22 and hauled down four rebounds and handed out two assists. Baxter recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds for CofO.

Semifinal action from the 2026 NCCAAA DI Men’s Basketball National Championship begins at 3:30 PM CT on Wednesday, March 19. A full schedule, box scores, media links and more for every game can be found here.
 
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.