CBC SPORTS: Men's Basketball Earn NAIA Tourney Bid

Men’s Basketball

• Fulton, Mo., March 4 — Competing in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament presented by Tandem HR Championship game for the fourth time in five seasons, #15 CBC faced #9 William Woods at Anderson Arena. #15 CBC (26-5) trailed at halftime and ultimately fell to WWU (28-2) with a final score of 85-52. Wade Williams was the only Mustang in double figures, scoring 12 points, while Devin Foster recorded a career-high 11 rebounds. CBC won the turnover battle with 9 turnovers to WWU's 11, but couldn’t contain the Owls’ offense, getting outshot 44% to 25% from the field.

• Kansas City, Mo., March 7 — #15 CBC made history when the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced its selections for the 64-team field of the NAIA Men’s Basketball Tournament. For the first time in program history, CBC earned an at-large bid to the NAIA tournament. This selection marks the sixth overall for the Mustangs, who earned a five seed in the Naismith Bracket. This seeding represents the highest ever for the Mustangs, dating back to the old format. CBC is placed in the Langston, Okla., bracket, alongside the 4-seed Langston, the 13-seed Saint Mary’s and the 12-seed William Carey. The Mustangs and Crusaders will tip off on Friday, March 14, at 3 p.m. at Gayles Field House in Langston. If CBC wins in the first round, they will advance to Saturday’s regional final.

Softball

• Gulf Shores, Ala., March 7 — In their final tournament before conference play, CBC was at the Gulf Coast Invitational for games against Tennessee-Southern (UTS) and Mobile. CBC (7-15) dropped both games, falling to UTS 4-3 in eight innings before being shut out by #22 Mobile 5-0.

• Gulf Shores, Ala., March 8 — After suffering a pair of narrow losses to open the Gulf Coast Invitational, CBC returned to the Gulf Shores Sportsplex for matchups against Point and Brenau. CBC (9-15) secured two victories on the day, defeating the Skyhawks 4-1 before coming back from down 6-0 to beat the Tigers 8-6. Coach Keith Hinson picked up his 100th win leading the Mustangs with the victory over Brenau, joining Jason Anderson and Jordon Jones in the 100-win club for the softball program.

Baseball

• Ozark, Mo., March 7 — Playing a new AMC opponent for the first time this season, CBC took on the Patriots of Mission University (MU) at U.S. Ballpark. CBC (10-10, 8-2 AMC) had late heroics in both games, sweeping the day 7-5 and 10-8 over MU (12-3, 7-2 AMC).

• Ozark, Mo., March 8 — Looking for an AMC series sweep against MU, CBC was back at US Ballpark for the final two games of the four-game series. CBC (11-11, 9-3 AMC) split the day with MU (13-5, 8-4 AMC), winning game one 16-2 before falling 7-6 in eight innings in game two.

• St. Louis, Mo., March 10 — For the second time this season, a CBC baseball player has earned AMC Player of the Week honors. Brayden Mayencourt received the recognition this week following Julian Rodriguez’s selection two weeks ago. Mayencourt had an impressive week, helping CBC achieve a 3-1 record against MU. He batted .583 with three doubles, a home run, eight RBIs and four runs scored, extending his hitting streak to eight games. He began the series with four RBIs in game one and hit his home run during the 16-2 victory in game three, while also delivering a pinch-hit RBI single in game two.

Track & Field

• Searcy, March 8 — Competing for the second time this spring season, CBC was on course at the Chick-Fil-A Harding Invitational. CBC competed in eight events—seven on the track and one in the field. Evan East ran in both the 100-meter and 200-meter events, recording times of 11.52 seconds in the 100 and 23.28 seconds in the 200. Josh Brown competed in the 200-meter, 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles, achieving a time of 24.72 seconds in the 200, 15.48 seconds in the 110 hurdles and 1:02.31 in the 400 hurdles. Alex Edwards focused solely on the 800, finishing with a time of 2:31.34. Chris Palmer participated in the 3000-meter race, completing it in a time of 9:05.41. Kortney Embry ran the 110 hurdles in 17.44 seconds. Solomon Barnes took on the 400 hurdles and the triple jump, posting a time of 1:06.47 in the hurdles and a mark of 12.87 meters in the triple jump. Mackenzie Milligan, Bay Davis and Lindsey Risner raced in the women’s 800-meter event. Milligan finished in 3:03.80, Davis in 3:11.66 and Risner crossed the finish line in 3:25.70.

Women’s Golf

• Columbia, Mo., March 10 — Kicking off the spring season with a trip to Missouri, CBC was on the course at Columbia Country Club for the first round of the Columbia Invitational. CBC recorded an opening round score of 379 and is currently in eighth place, just five shots behind the team ahead of them. Individually, Abby Kirby is tied for eighth after shooting an 85 in the first round, placing her just eight strokes off the lead. Laney Crutchfield and Thaylia Ramirez both shot opening round scores of 92, while Danielle Alastre had a 110 in her first round as a Mustang.

Men’s Golf

• Columbia, Mo., March 10 — Playing for the first time this spring, CBC teed off for the initial 18 holes of the Columbia College Spring Invitational. CBC recorded a score of 324 in the opening round, placing them in 12^th place, 36 strokes behind the hosts and leaders, Columbia. Individually, Cooper Hermann posted the top score, shooting a 77 in the opening round. Next was Jakub Slapal, who shot a 78, followed by Gustavo Bello and Paul Gomez, who competed as individuals, both finishing with scores of 79. Preston Nestorenko concluded the first round with a score of 90, while Jack Higginbotham shot a 91.