Point Lookout, M.O. – Three-seeded Lancaster Bible College and #4 Columbia International University punched their ticket to the 2026 NCCAA DI Men’s Basketball National Championship game, picking up wins in semifinal action on Thursday, March 19.
 
Semifinal One: #3 Lancaster Bible College 98, #7 Nelson American Indian College 91

In a high-scoring affair, #3 Lancaster Bible College scored 53 second half points and held off a late rally from #7 Nelson American Indian College to pick up the 98-91win and punch their ticket to the 2026 NCCAA DI Men’s Basketball National Championship game.

• Scoring started early, with Daniel King nailing a pair of layups before two three-balls found the mark for Camden Hurst, putting Lancaster Bible ahead 12-6. Nelson AIC responded from the charity stripe with four made free throws, and a Calvin Windley jumper gave the lead to the Warriors 13-12 with 14:33 remaining in the opening frame. Trey Grube and Windley traded buckets from deep, and an extra bucket from Grube put the Chargers ahead 22-19 with 12:26 left in the first. 
• Zoe Holman briefly put Nelson AIC on top with a make, but a pair of quick shots from Nile Austin and Bennett Bowers put LBC back ahead 28-25 halfway through the opening frame. A Connor Storr layup and an Austin three-pointer put the Chargers up 36-30, and a three-ball from Grube swelled the Lancaster Bible advantage to 42-34. Nelson-AIC answered with a 10-2 run to end the half, as two makes from Orlando Gonzales and a scoop and score from Holman beat the buzzer, and the Warriors and Chargers headed into halftime tied at 44.
• In the second half, both teams came out firing, as Gonzales found Holman for an alley oop dunk that was answered with a Bennett Bowers three-pointer to put Lancaster Bible ahead 54-50 with 16:04 left in the contest. The Bowers triple sparked a scoring surge for the Chargers, as the Chargers would go on a 19-9 run, thanks to a pair of Hurst makes from distance, and a fastbreak layup by Jacob Lewis to put LBC ahead 73-61 with just 8:34 remaining.
• Jermaine Earnest willed the Warriors back by himself, scoring six straight points to cut the Lancaster Bible lead to six, but Storr answered the run with a jumper and a fastbreak bucket to put the Chargers up 79-69 with 6:22 left. Holman tried to will the Warriors back into the contest with a four-point burst, but another Grube trey pushed LBC back to an 84-76 advantage. 
• Holman continued to put Nelson AIC on his back, converting a pair of chances at the free throw line and nailing a three-pointer, but Austin hit another make from downtown to push LBC ahead 88-83 with 2:28 left in the game. An Earnest make would get Nelson AIC down by nine, but Lancaster Bible College held off a late Warrior rally to earn the 98-91 win.
• Hurst led Lancaster Bible with 26 points and flirted with a triple-double, recording eight assists and hauling down seven rebounds. Storr almost tallied a double-double for the Chargers, scoring 20 points and hauling in nine rebounds. Despite the loss, Holman scored 25 points and picked up six rebounds, four steals, two assists, and two blocks for Nelson American Indian College.

Semifinal Two: #4 Columbia International University 88, #8 College of the Ozarks 70
 
Fourth-seeded Columbia International University shot over 50% from the field in the second half, as the Rams advanced to the 2026 NCCAA DI Men’s Basketball National Championship game with an 88-70 win over #8 College of the Ozarks.

• Points were at a premium early, as College of the Ozarks and Columbia International both struggled to score, before Will Kelly and Jay Baxter traded threes, as CIU took a 9-6 lead with 14:11 left in the first frame. Kelly added another triple for the Rams, but Seth Soden responded with a three of his own, cutting the CIU lead to 16-11 with 12:00 left.
• Garrett Snyder got going with a layup for the Bobcats, but Rhett Warga answered with an and-one conversion on the other end for CIU. Kelly scored again in the lane, and a pair of Tristyn Carrington triples swelled the advantage, putting the Rams on top 33-22 with 7:08 left on the first half clock. A three-ball from Andrew Dalton cut the lead back down to single digits, but a big-time block by Jeffrey Clark II led to an outlet pass for the Rams, and a JJ Vaughan layup put CIU on top 41-31 with 1:41 remaining. Clark II ended the half strong with an assist under the basket to Johnny Whysong on an and-one conversion, and Columbia International headed into the half up 44-35.
• College of the Ozarks came out of the locker room with a pair of jumpers from Dalton and Themba Tshuma, but CIU answered with a shot from Warga. DJ Quarles added a three-pointer, and a hard take to the rim from Baxter cut the Ram advantage to 53-49 with 12:33 left in the game. Columbia International then went on a run, sparked by a steal from Clark II, as he found Vaughan for a jumper, before Connor Higgins drove inside for a layup to put the Rams up 59-49. Higgins added another layup, and a shot from Clark II kept CIU on top 67-57 with 7:56 remaining in the contest.
• Baxter cut the lead to single digits with a layup, but a three from Vaughan and a driving layup from Warga pushed CIU to a 76-62 lead. A no look pass from Warga led to a Whysong slam dunk, and a second slam from Clark II was the icing on the cake for Columbia International, as the Rams punched their ticket to the NCCAA DI Men’s Basketball National Championship game for the second straight year, defeating College of the Ozarks 88-70.
• Warga and Kelly both scored 18 points for the Rams, with Warga tallying nine rebounds as well, while Kelly hauled in four boards. Despite the loss, Snyder scored 14 points and had seven rebounds for the Bobcats.

Game Five: #6 Clinton College 71, #2 Hannibal-LaGrange University 65
 
A big time performance from Kipp Richvine propelled #6 Clinton College to the 71-65 win over #2 Hannibal-LaGrange University in consolation action. 

• The Trojans were undeterred by the early start, opening the game on a 10-1 run, as Ian McDonald and Kell Estep drained a pair of threes, and Estep found Davaughn Hueitt inside for an emphatic dunk. Another make from McDonald pushed the Hannibal-LaGrange lead to 14-3, but Clinton began to claw back, as a three from Jordan Snipes Campbell and a pair of makes from Cori Miller had the Golden Bears down 18-14 halfway through the first half.
• Clinton continued to roll, as a Miller three started a quick burst for the Bears, and a Blake Gascoigne jumper put Clinton ahead 25-23. The two sides traded buckets, with Estep draining a deep three before Jordan Snipes Campbell and Daquan Amlett connected on back-to-back triples, and the game went to the half tied at 35.
• The two sides traded the lead early in the second half, before a Kipp Richvine jumper sparked a 10-0 run for the Golden Bears, aided by layups from Snipes Campbell and Gascoigne to put Clinton ahead 49-39. A McDonald jumper ended the run, but Jaquise Richmond nailed a shot from distance, and Clinton pushed ahead 52-43 halfway through the second frame.
• McDonald got Hannibal-LaGrange back into the game with a triple, and after a make from Estep, the Trojans trailed 62-57 with 4:39 left. Another McDonald make cut Clinton’s lead to three, but an and-one conversion from Snipes Campbell pushed the Golden Bears back up six. Another Estep three made it 67-65 with 14 seconds left in favor of Clinton, but the Bears made four straight free throws to close out the 71-65 win.
• Snipes Campbell scored 19 points to lead Cinton, while Richvine stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals in the win. Despite the loss, McDonald scored 20 points and had six rebounds and two assists in the game for Hannibal-LaGrange.

Game Six: #1 Bethel University 86, #5 Ohio Christian University 83
 
In a back-and-forth affair that saw 26 combined makes from three, #1 Bethel University knocked off #5 Ohio Christian University in consolation action.

• The scoring was early and often for both sides, as a DJ Bogay three was answered by a triple from Luke McBride. Landon Brewer added another make from downtown for the Trailblazers, before a jumper from Beau Jacquay put Bethel ahead 14-11. Bethel began to pull away, as Colin Comer added another make from downtown for the Pilots, and three straight makes from beyond the arc by Austin Cripe had Bethel ahead 32-22 with 7:45 left in the opening stanza.
• A layup and three-ball from Comer swelled the Bethel advantage to 40-29, but Ohio Christian responded with a make from Sammy Detweiler and a pair of shots from Caleb Schmelzer. McBride ended the first half with a buzzer beating putback, and Bethel went into the halftime break up 42-35.
• Ohio Christian responded in the second half with back-to-back threes from Parker Penrod and Detweiler. DJ Bogay added to the scoring, and it was Penrod again connecting from deep, hitting back-to-back threes to put OCU on top 49-47. Penrod connected on two straight layups to keep the Trailblazers ahead, but a McBride three-ball and a layup pushed the Pilots back in front 61-59 halfway through the final frame.
• Both sides traded buckets and the lead for a bit, as Penrod answered Comer from downtown, before another McBride make from deep pushed Bethel ahead 71-68 with 6:00 remaining in the game. Penrod tied the contest with another make from deep, before McBride responded to tie the contest 77-77 with 2:57 left. A tough and-one conversion from Jacquay gave Bethel the three point lead, and after a triple from Schmelzer, McBride nailed two free throws for the Pilots to give Bethel the 86-83 lead with seven seconds remaining. Penrod got a clean look to tie the game, but the shot rimmed out and Bethel held on for the 86-83 win.
• McBride led the Pilots with 24 points and added six rebounds, while Comer scored 22 points. Despite the loss, Penrod made five threes for Ohio Christian and added four assists, scoring 26 points for OCU.

Both championship bound teams will have the day off tomorrow, as the seventh and fifth place games will tip off from the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks beginning at 1:00 PM CT. Box scores, full schedule, and streaming information for every game of the 2026 NCCAA DI Men’s Basketball National Championship 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.