A national title is at stake as Clinton College’s men play in Christian league semis

Michael Burgess
·2 min read

Clinton College will play in a basketball tournament tonight that could lead them to a national title.

No, not the NCAA tournament, which started at noon Thursday.

The small Historically Black University in Rock Hill, S.C. will play in the semifinals of the National Christian College Athletic Association tournament. The Golden Bears face the University of Fort Lauderdale tonight at Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind.

Clinton posted a 20-1 record for the season and led all NCCAA Division I programs in scoring at 106.2 points per game. The team entered the NCCAA Division I tournament as the No. 3 seed.

Fort Lauderdale is the No. 2 seed and Bethel University (Indiana) is the No. 1 seed.

The school hosted a watch party Wednesday at a room in the campus library building so students could see the Golden Bears’ first-round matchup against Asbury (Kentucky).

Clinton College President, Dr. Lester McCorn says it’s nice to support the team and give students a break from the semester’s grind.

“We need a break like this,” McCorn said. “We’re in the homestretch of the semester, so anxiety is already a little high. But it’s good for us to be able to gather together and root on our Golden Bears.”

Members of Clinton’s faculty, staff and student body celebrate the Golden Bears first-round victory over Asbury.
Members of Clinton’s faculty, staff and student body celebrate the Golden Bears first-round victory over Asbury.

Clinton put up a major fight in the game, coming back from a 12-point first-half deficit to beat Asbury 86-83.

All-NCCAA First Team selection Cameron Shannon had 30 points in the win, while Second Team selection Jeremiah Anderson posted a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

The cheers from the Clinton student body filled the room with gameday chants and applause when the final buzzer sounded.

“It was a lot of pressure in there,” McCorn said. “We were stressed out. But that’s a great win because they were down for most of the second half. So for them to keep their composure and keep running their game, kudos to the coach and the team for pulling out a big win.”

The Golden Bears will play the University of Fort Lauderdale at 7 p.m. The game is being streamed at nccaanetwork.com