The #3-seed Lancaster Bible College Men's Basketball team punched their ticket to the NCCAA Division I National Championship game on Thursday afternoon as they defeated #7-seed Nelson American Indian College 98-91 in Point Lookout, Mo. The Chargers improve to 22-8 overall while the Warriors fall to 20-12 overall and will play #8-seed College of the Ozarks in the 3rd-Place game on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. local time.
 
How it Happened:
The Chargers began the scoring as Daniel King (Jr.) got a layup to go, then after four straight by the Warriors the Chargers went back ahead on a made 3-pointer by Camden Hurst (Jr.). King added a pair of scores to cap a 7-0 run for the Chargers, then Hurst knocked down another three as LBC led 12-6 just three minutes in. Nelson then answered with a 7-0 scoring run to take the lead before Connor Storr (Jr.) ended the run on a made free throw, then Storr hit a three to put LBC back in front. Trey Grube (Jr.) then hit a pair of 3-pointers to keep the Chargers on top, then it was Bennett Bowers (So.) who hit back-to-back jumpers as LBC led 28-25 halfway through the first. Later on, Grube hit another three for the Chargers' largest lead of the half at eight points, then the Warriors closed the half on a 10-2 run over the final four minutes to tie the game up at 44-44 in a high-scoring first half.
 
King scored the first five points of the second half for the Chargers, including an and-one layup to put LBC up three early. Bowers then hit his first three of the game and Hurst got a layup off a turnover for a 54-49 LBC lead, then Nelson quickly cut it down to one before Hurst scored seven straight points for the Chargers with an and-one to extend the lead to six. Reaves Hooks (Sr.) then scored off an offensive rebound for the first double-digit lead of the game at 65-55, then it became 13 off a made three by Hurst and a driving layup by Jacob Lewis (Fr.), making the score 70-57 Lancaster Bible with under 10 minutes to play. Another three by Hurst put him over 20 for the game and the Chargers' largest lead at 14 points, then the Warriors stormed back over the next minute as they scored eight straight points to close the gap to six before a pair of buckets from Storr ended the run. Nelson stayed close as they cut the lead to five before Grube hit another three to get it back to eight, then after a big three by Nelson to cut the lead to four, Nile Austin (Sr.) hit a bigger three to put LBC back up seven with under three minutes to go. With the lead still at seven under 30 seconds to go, Austin hit a pair of free throws as Nelson's rally came up short, with the Chargers sealing a 98-91 victory and a trip to the National Championship on Saturday.
 
By the Numbers:
- The Chargers shot 49-percent from the floor, 48-percent from 3-point range, and shot 60-percent from the free throw line
- The Warriors shot 42-percent from the floor, 21-percent from three, and 76-percent on free throws
- Camden Hurst led the Chargers with a game-high 27 points and matched a career-high with eight assists
- Connor Storr notched his second straight double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds
- Daniel King scored 13 points on 6-8 from the field
- Trey Grube added 12 points off the bench on 4-7 shooting from 3-point range
- The Warriors were led by Zoe Holman with a team-high 25 points and four steals

Information to Know:
This was the Chargers' second-ever meeting with Nelson American Indian College, defeating the Warriors back in 2021 at the National Tournament en route to a 5th-place finish. The Chargers advance to their second Championship Final in program history and their first since the 2021-22 season where they fell to Baptist Bible College (now Mission University) 77-70. The Chargers have now achieved their highest single-season scoring total in program history with 2,714 total points and counting, surpassing the previous mark of 2,637 points set during the 2015-16 season. Another record set in today's game was Camden Hurst's 635 total points scored this season, setting the program record for most points in a single season in the Division III era and breaking Jordan Shewbridge's 2021-22 scoring total in one less game as he dropped 27 points today against the Warriors. Hurst also now has 19 games with 20+ points this season and maintains his scoring average of 21.1 points per game this year, shooting 39.8% from 3-point range with 45 makes. Trey Grube now has 52 made 3-pointers this season to lead the Chargers, becoming the 16th player in program history with 50+ made threes in a season and tied for the 13th-highest 3-point total in a season in LBC's Division III history.
 
Up Next:
The Chargers have advanced to the NCCAA Division I Championship game to be played on Saturday, March 21 as they will take on #4-seed Columbia International University at 3:00 p.m. (2pm CT) for the NCCAA Division I National Championship.