JOPLIN, Mo. – The Dallas Christian College men's basketball team competed last week, March 2-5, in the Association of Christian College Athletics (ACCA) Tournament. The Crusaders would finish in fifth place, after defeating host school Ozark Christian College. The Crusaders arguably played their best basketball this week with that final game demonstrating a season-high 113 points. DCC eclipsed 100 points in three of the four contests, including its lone setback to Baptist Bible on the second day.

After a hard finish to the Southwest Regional play-in game and a year that had so many challenges, it is commendable that these Crusaders came together and played their most cohesive game in their "March Madness."

Head Coach Dwight Coleman stated, "The guys finally came together and I am proud of the effort we showed on the floor."

Below are summary's and player stand outs from each of the games.

(TUESDAY, OAK HILLS CHRISTIAN)

Dallas Christian erupted for a 109-73 victory on the first day. The Crusaders grabbed a 20-6 lead in under six minutes, but the Wolfpack fought back to get within six points a couple of times.

Eventually the score was knotted at 24, but Versache Buchanan drilled a triple to lift the Crusaders back on top. Elijah Barth added a trey and then after Oak Hills had a basket it was a tip-in by Tilyr Hobson and layup by Jason Makayabo that stretched the lead back to eight. With two minutes before intermission, Micah Tucker hit a trey and capped the half with another for an 8-3 run that put DCC up 53-36.

The Crusaders kept the fast pace in the second half and outscored their opposition by 19 in the last 20 minutes to gain the first round victory. The team shot 54.5 percent from the field and was led by Hobson's 12 points.

DCC was led by Hobson and Reggie Daniels with 20 points apiece overall. The front court duo also each secured a double-double with 14 and 12 rebounds, respectively. Nick Erves was 4-of-6 from downtown and had most of his damage there for his 14 points. Tucker scored a career-high 13 points and was 5-for-7 on the floor and 3-for-5 from three. Buchanan was the fourth starter to reach double-digits in points and fifth DCC player. He tied Daniels with a team-high four assists. The Crusaders combined for 25 dimes and hit 14 three-pointers.

(WEDNESDAY, Bible Baptist)

The Patriots continued to be a thorn in DCC's side this season as the team prevailed in a third meeting this year. However, the result was not of the double-digit variety as had the regular season meetings at each team's own venue been.

This game came down to the wire, after the Crusaders kept fighting back after being down nine at the break (52-43). DCC had led by as many as 12 in the first stanza with 11:11 on the clock. Bible Baptist answered and stretched its halftime lead to as many as 16 points less than two minutes into the next half. Most of the second half saw the Patriots maintain around a 10-point spread. Jalen Perez nailed a trifecta at seven and a half minutes to slash the deficit to five (89-85). Teams traded points and the DCC opponent went up to as many as eight again two minutes later. Daniels made a layup and Emerson Wallace swiped a steal and got a trey on the assist from Perez to make it 96-93 with five to play. It was back-and-forth still but DCC took care of the free throw line as Chambers hit a pair to pull within one and then Erves was good for two at the stripe for it to be tied at 103 with 2:25 remaining. The next five points went Bible Baptist's way and essentially sealed the game. After a basket, DCC turned the ball over and an old fashioned three-point play by Tre Minton made it a five-point game. DCC got a point back at the line and later would get within two on a Hobson layup with 23 ticks left after the Patriots came up empty on the previous trip. They split and the Crusaders had a chance to tie or get within one, but would miss a contested layup that hit too high off the backboard and the Patriots closed out the 112-108 final.

DCC shot 39.5 percent compared to 42.3 percent favoring Bible Baptist in field goals. DCC did hit 15 three-pointers and were a phenomenal 25-for-28 (89.5%) at the free throw line. The Crusaders won the battle on the glass, 58-54. Turnovers were even at 15 and second chance points were even at 19. DCC held a 23-4 edge in points off turnovers and 20-15 edge in points off turnovers. Baptist Bible won the battle in the paint, 44-36.

Buchanan led the Crusaders with a personal-best 25 points thanks to five treys. Daniels recorded a double-double with 11 points and boards. Wallace exploded from the bench with a career-high 18 points and Perez also dialed home a personal-high 15 points. The two matched 3-for-5 three-point shooting and combined for seven assists. Erves used a perfect 8-for-8 at the line to help with half of his 16 points.

(THURSDAY, Champion Christian)

The Crusaders avenged an 82-68 loss in the regular season to the Tigers on the road with a 12-point win and a chance to advance to the fifth place game in the bracket. It was the lowest scoring game of the tournament for the Crusaders, but they outdid their opponent by 11 points in the second half to earn the win.

In the first half neither team could gain a lead wider than five. Champion Christian had led last by that margin before the Crusaders scored eight straight. With under two minutes Tucker hit a trey, Wallace followed a turnover on the Tigers with a tying layup. Buchanan sank the go-ahead three. The Crusaders led at the break 38-37.

The Tigers struck first with some early leads in the next half. With eight minutes left, DCC used a 9-2 run to expand the lead to eight (66-58). With just over five to go, Buchanan hit all three free throws on a foul he had drawn shooting from long range. Erves hit a three to make it a 10-point lead. Champion had a three to draw closer, but Buchanan responded with a triple immediately that it stymied any momentum to narrow the gap.

Daniels was the standout with 26 points and 15 rebounds. He shot 12-for-18 from the floor and added two steals and three blocks. Buchanan tossed in 13 points and six rebounds to go with four assists. Barth had 11 points and along with Buchanan made a trio of three-pointers. As a unit, the team cooled down to just eight made three-pointers.

DCC held a 40.8 field goal percentage edge to 33.3 percent. The team had five more rebounds (49-44) and 15-6 edge on assists in the game. Turnovers were once again even at 15.

(FRIDAY, Ozark Christian)

The Crusaders defeated the host school of the tournament by racing out to a 64-49 lead and never looking back. DCC shot a blistering 64.1 percent from the field in the first half and were over 50 percent in the second half. Buchanan had 14 first half points and was 4-of-7 from downtown. Daniels meanwhile had 21 of his game-high 29 points in the second stanza.

Daniels was shy a rebound for his complete quartet of double-doubles. He did lead the team with nine rebounds. All five starters were in double figures with Buchanan contributed 23 points thanks to 7-for-12 three-point shooting by the native of Paris, Texas. All five starters for the Crusaders were in double figures for points as Barth had 13 and Hobson and Erves added 10 apiece. Makayabo tossed in a personal-high 13 points from the bench. As a team, DCC shared the ball 20 times and had 11 different players with one tally in that column. Also DCC had drilled 15 three-pointers, making it two games with that amount and three in double-digits for success in that category.  

The Crusaders would claim the 113-81 final. They had 50 points in the paint, a 35-19 edge in points off turnovers, 20-12 second chance points, and 21-5 on fastbreaks. DCC swiped 12 steals, and the Ambassadors had 21 miscues, while DCC had 15. 

This will conclude the Crusaders 2020-21 season.