Central Baptist College Mustangs Athletics

CBC Finishes Third in NCCAA Tournament

Central Baptist College's softball team finished third last weekend in the National Christian College Athletic Association's national tournament at Palm Beach, Fla.

The Lady Mustangs (35-13) and top-seeded in the tournament, opened with an 8-0 victory over Spring Arbor, then lost 1-0 to host and eventual champion Palm Beach Atlantic. Spring Arbor came back for a 6-2 victory in the losers bracket finals. Palm Beach Atlantic then downed Spring Arbor in the championship game.

CBC pitcher Claire Collom of New Boston, Texas, and catcher Shannon Pickard of Greenbrier earned All-American honors. Pitcher Cassie Martin of El Dorado was honorable mention All-American. Shortstop Hailey King of Bryant was named Postion Player of the Year by the NCCAA.

Collom, Martin and Pickard made the all-tournament team.

Collom tossed a one-hitter and struck out six in CBC's opening, run-rule, victory over Spring Arbor. Martin had three hits and two RBI. Pickard had two hits and two RBI. King had a hit and two RBI. Chelsey Hust scored two runs and had two hits. Tia Houston and Krishauna Kindall had a run and a hit. Kindall added two RBI.

The Lady Mustangs then lost to Palm Beach Atlantic in the 1-0, 11-inning game that was the tightest of the tournament.

Palm Beach won it in the 11th on a double by Caitlin Bouschet, a fielder's choice and a single down the left field line by Becca Bolinger.

Collom, the losing pitcher, allowed nine hits and struck out 10. Ashley Jones struck out 22 Lady Mustangs on the way to a six-hitter.

CBC managed only five hits in the losers bracket final against Spring Arbor. Martin had two hits and scored twice while Jessica McDaniel, Pickard and King each had a hit. King had an RBI.

CBC Softball Ranked #1 in NCCAA Central Region, Will Host Central Region Tournament in Conway

The CBC Lady Mustangs Softball team has earned the right to host the NCCAA Central Region Softball Tournament by being the highest ranked team in the Region. The Lady Mustangs with a record of 30-10 are #3 Nationally and #1 in the Central Region.

The Tournament will be held at Conway High School field on April 24th and 25th. The teams that will be participating in the tournament are from Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Nebraska. CBC has the #1 Seed, York College of Nebraska the #2 seed, Mid-America Christian University from Oklahoma the #3 seed, Hillsdale Freewill Baptist also from Oklahoma the #4 seed and the #5 seed is Crowleys Ridge College from Paragould.

The winner of the Regional Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCCAA National Tournament held in West Palm Beach, FL starting on May 6.

CBC men headed to national play in Indiana

CBC Mustangs Friday, March 19, 2009, Conway, AR - Central Baptist College men's basketball team is returning to national tournament play for the third time in four years.

The Mustangs (22-12) received an at-large bid to compete in this week's National Christian College Athletic Association tournament in Oakland City, Ind.

Despite losing to top-ranked Colorado Christian 67-59 in the championship game of the regional tournament, CBC coach Josh Austin received a call with some good news on their way back to Conway.

"When they told me that we were one of the two teams in the nation who had received a bid to play in the tournament, I couldn't believe it, so I told the bus driver to pull over at the next gas station," Austin said. "I told the guys, and they were excited. All of us got off the bus and started running around. We were just excited after hearing about the news."

CBC is one of eight teams looking to hoist a title by Saturday evening. The Mustangs, the fourth seed (the highest in school history), will play against fifth-seeded Nyack College at 5 p.m. today.

Semifinal games are scheduled for Friday, with the final set for Saturday.

"We're blessed. That's really the first word that comes to mind," Austin said. "It felt great having all of those people out there greeting us before we got on the bus to leave (on Tuesday). These guys are just pumped up to be here."

CBC earned a No. 2 seed in the regional tournament and had a bye into the semifinal round. The Mustangs got their way into the finals by beating Ecclesia College, 74-63.

"Everything started in August when these guys were waking up at 5 a.m. to practice and run," Austin said. "This moment is credited to all of that hard work that the guys put in then. This group just always come and plays their best. They can lose three straight, but they're coming at you like they've won three in a row."

One of the Mustangs' strengths in they are dangerous on the perimeter. Ryan Barnes is the second leading scorer in the nation with an average of 22 points a game. He is a 46 percent 3-point shooter. CBC's all-time 3-point record holder, Trad Williams, leads the nation in made 3-point field goals with 141. His percentage of 47 from behind the 3-point line is amongst the nation's best.

"Our philosophy is our first option is to go inside to the post," Austin said. "We like to go inside-out. We feel like that we have good post players and we have good guards. We have guards who can penetrate and they can shoot it. If you try to defend the shot then they'll blow right past you."

The Mustangs also are among the leaders in some defensive categories. The Mustangs lead the nation in steals with an average 12 per game. Rod Briggs leads the nation with slightly over three steals per game. CBC is giving up an average of 69 points per game, after yielding 78 last season.

"That's one thing that we have focused on this year is our defense," Austin said. "We couldn't get any stops last season, but this year everybody has devoted themselves to getting after it on defense. This group of guys have really bonded together as a team. Last year we had a bunch of individuals running around. I told the guys to let me jump on their backs because they're really the ones that deserve all of the credit."

CBC Gets a Bid for the National Tournament

The Mustangs received the call on Saturday around 6:00 pm that they were picked to attend the NCCAA Division I National Tournament in Oakland City, Indiana on March 19-21. CBC fell to the Colorado Christian Cougars earlier that day in the NCCAA Central Region Championship 59-67.

With an impressive season the Mustangs were eligible for an at-large bid to the tournament. CBC has not been back to the tournament since the 2005-06 season where they were a #8 seed. The Mustangs receive their highest seed in school history as the #4 where they will face #5 Nyack College out of Nyack, New York.

"These guys deserve this! They have worked too hard to not get a chance. God has been so good! He has been the only audience that we have been playing for. It is so easy as a coach when you are around guys like ours. I am very proud." said CBC coach Josh Austin.

Tip off is scheduled for 5:00 pm on Thursday.

See the complete bracket at http://www.thenccaa.org/images/Basketball/2009%20DIMBBbrackets.pdf

The Mustangs Head to Regionals

The Central Baptist College Men's Basketball team begins a new season starting March 13th in McPherson, Kansas as a number two seed in the NCCAA Central Region Tournament. The Mustangs clinched the spot after posting a school record 21 wins. The Mustangs will play the winner of the three and six seed game.

"I am so excited! The guys have worked extremely hard for this weekend. It has been two weeks since we have played and the guys are biting at the bit." said CBC Head Coach Josh Austin. This will be the first time back to the regional tournament for the Mustangs since the 2006-07 season, which CBC made it to the championship game and lost to the host school Dallas Baptist, 82-74. The Mustangs need to win two games to get an automatic bid to the NCCAA National Tournament in Oakland City, Indiana on March 19-21.

CBC has Record-Breaking Year

March 3 - The Central Baptist College Men's Basketball Team finished the regular season with a record-breaking 21 wins and 11 losses. The record also broke the best winning percentage in school history winning 65.6% of their games. As a team, CBC broke a total of 6 records including: most wins (21), best record (21-11), best winning percentage (65.6%), most blocks in a season (131), most steals in a season (386), and best defensive average (72.3).

The team also broke a slew of individual records. Senior Trad Williams broke his old school record of most three pointers hit in one season with 134 and added to his career three point record with 364 three pointers made. Junior Ryan Barnes tied the school record for most points scored in one game with 47 points and broke the record for most free throws made in a season with 163. Junior Rodderick Briggs tied the record for most steals in one game with 10 and broke the single season steal record with 108. Sophomore Michael Holder has 65 blocks on the season which broke the old record of 50.

"I am so proud of our team! God has done a great deal with this team. I love all 10 of these guys and their attitudes! They deserve everything that will come their way and I am honored to be their coach." CBC Head Men's Basketball Coach said. CBC will travel to McPherson, Kansas on March 11th for the NCCAA Central Regional Tournament. The winner of the Region will head to the NCCAA National Tournament in Oakland City, Indiana on March 19-21.