Category: SC Central Christian

Johnson’s Double-Double Leads S4C to First Win

DUE WEST, S.C. – SC Central Christian got a double-double performance from Davarius Johnson and held off Erskine 75-71 for its first men’s basketball win Wednesday evening.

The Fleet led 39-33 at halftime before the Gladiators outscored Erskine 42-32 in the second half to pull away late. S4C shot 43.9% from the field and went 15 of 24 at the free-throw line.

Johnson led Central with 17 points, knocking down three 3-pointers, and hauled in 12 rebounds while Jaden Smith added 14 points. Thomas Miles chipped in 13. The Gladiators scored 20 points off the bench.

Erskine was led by Ruben Salazar, who scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

Seeds Hold in Quarterfinals, Semis Set for Today

MILTON, Fla. – The top four seeds in the 2025 NSAC Men’s Basketball Tournament held serve on Friday, leading to what promises to be an exciting pair of games today.

In Friday’s first matchup, 3rd-seed John Melvin (FL) held off 6th-seeded Atlantis 67-64. The Atlanteans had the ball with under five seconds to play but could not connect on a shot to tie.

Second-seed Mid-Atlantic Christian kept upset-minded Beacon at bay 88-83.

Apprentice, the 4th seed, cruised to a 102-71 victory over SC Central Christian in the day’s third game. The Builders set a new program record for rebounds in a game, pulling down 74.

In the nightcap, top-seeded Lighthouse Christian struggled with upstart Southeast Christian, the 9th seed, for most of the first half before pulling away for a 93-66 win.

That sets up Saturday’s bracket as the Mustangs and Mohawks will meet at 2:00 pm Eastern/1:00 pm Central, followed by the Makos and Builders in a rematch of last year’s championship. That game is set to tip off at 4:00 pm Eastern/3:00 pm Central. The winners will advance to meet for the title Sunday at 3:00 pm Eastern/2:00 pm Central time.

All games are being streamed live at Channel One – JMU-Mohawks

Men’s Basketball All-Academic Team Recognized

The New South Athletic Conference is proud to honor the 2025 Men’s Basketball All-Academic Team, comprised off all players who are carrying a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a four-point scale.

“At the small college level, more than any other college level, academic progress and excellence are still cornerstones of athletic success.” said NSAC commissioner Mike Davis. “That’s why I take special interest in honoring these 53 young men who lead the way in a well-rounded college experience.”

The Apprentice School

  • Clifton Goode
  • Wayne Hedgepeth
  • Chris Hinmon
  • Montrell Jackson
  • Donovan Means

Atlantis University

  • Santiago Inssuarlde
  • Jose Rosario
  • Jatez Ward
  • Artem Sorokin
  • Samuel Jiménez

Beacon College

  • Jovan Bell
  • Jared Carter
  • Bryce Contreras
  • Ernesto Hichez
  • Michael Turner
  • Jordique Vincent
  • Cooper White

John Melvin Christian College (FL)

  • Elijah Berger
  • Dayne Bordelon
  • Arnez Bryant 
  • Tyler Camplin
  • Korey Catchings
  • Tyvin Garrison
  • Nick Gikas
  • Evan Griffin
  • Jaedon Sisk
  • Joshua Steen
  • Javier Valerezo

John Melvin University (LA)

  • Richard Casler
  • Tayshaun Columb
  • Kaimauri Hodges
  • Landen Istre
  • Kyle Roach
  • Nate Smith
  • Deonne Williams

Lighthouse Christian College

  • Michael Ribeiro
  • Akok Shan

Mid-Atlantic Christian University

  • Arius Alston
  • Stewart Clough
  • Elijah Dias
  • Jake Harper
  • Uriah Logan
  • Kaylon Sampson
  • Janus Shepherd
  • Janai Williams
  • Terrance Williams
  • Tyus Williams

South Carolina Central Christian College

  • Kevin Butler
  • Tavion McPherson
  • Henoch Mukendi
  • Cedric Shelby
  • Travis Stroud

Southeast Christian College

  • Calvin Harrigan
  • Lawrence Ruffins III
  • Jordan Stevenson
  • Jaden Victor
  • Marvin Windom

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash

Seedings, Bracket Set for 2025 Tournament

MILTON, Fl. – With the final conference games of the season in the books, the seedings have been finalized for the 2025 New South Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament beginning this Thursday outside of Pensacola, Florida.

Lighthouse enters the tournament as the top seed for the second consecutive season, this time sporting a perfect 13-0 conference record. The Makos are also the hosts for the event.

Action begins Thursday at 6:00 pm Central time when 8th-seed John Melvin (LA) faces Southeast Christian, the 9th seed. The winner of that game goes on the meet Lighthouse Friday at 7:00 pm Central.

The championship game will tip off Sunday at 2:00 pm Central.

All games will take place at the Lighthouse Gym, 8604 Bobby Brown Road, Milton, Florida, and will be streamed live on the JMU Mohawks Sports Network.

What We Know with One Week to Go

We have just one week (eight days actually, if you count today, but I digress) until the 2024-25 NSAC men’s basketball regular season comes to a close, thereby completing the seedings for the tournament, AND YET there are still questions to be answered! It’s been that kind of a ride. But here’s what we DO KNOW as of today:

  1. The top four spots are a crap shoot. John Melvin (FL) and Lighthouse are tied for first and are scheduled to play twice this week. Apprentice and MACU are tied for third with the Builders holding the tiebreaker, but these two teams will also play TONIGHT in Newport News, so that tiebreaker is a moot point. Suffice it to say, the three remaining games among these four will settle the order, with various combinations of wins and losses determining the top four seeds, but none of them can fall lower than fourth. So there.
  2. Beacon and SC Central are tied for fifth, but the Blazers’ conference schedule is complete while the Gladiators host Southeast Christian next Sunday. If S4C wins, it will claim fifth outright and Beacon will fall to sixth. Vice versa if Southeast wins. More on that in a moment.
  3. Atlantis is locked into seventh. Thus it has been decreed, thus it shall be.
  4. JMU (LA) is eighth, and Southeast is ninth, regardless if the Eagles win in South Carolina next weekend. Thus, the Millers and Eagles will face off in the lone first round game on Thursday, February 27 for the right to tackle the top seed the following day. Talk about incentive.

And there you have it. The picture at the top will start to clear a bit once tonight’s Battle in the Bay is over and attention turns to the first of two Pensacola Pileups. Gosh, this is fun.

Photo by Thomas T on Unsplash

Mustangs Stymie Gladiators 94-68

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Keith Shakes, Jr. and Janus Shepherd scored 21 points apiece to lead Mid-Atlantic Christian to a 94-68 NSAC win Saturday afternoon over South Carolina Central Christian.

The Mustangs (6-7 overall, 4-0 NSAC) opened the game in red-hot fashion jumping to a 28-4 margin before the Gladiators settled into their game. S4C (1-7, 1-2), missing four players out with COVID symptoms, cut the lead to 14, but could get no closer. MACU led by as many as 29 late before settling for the final margin.

Tyus Williams added 12 for the Herd while Terrence Williams and Elijah Dias each tallied 12.

Cedric Shelby led the Gladiators with 21 and Daquan Ramey added 18.

SC Central Takes Win from CIC for First Program Dub

RICHMOND, Va. – South Carolina Central Christian College got 23 points Kevin Butler Friday afternoon to claim its first men’s basketball win 83-76 over Central International.

The Gladiators (1-6 overall, 1-1 NSAC), in their first year as a varsity program, held a 14-point advantage at halftime and held off a determined Cardinal rally for the victory.

Simari Murray scored 18 points, Duncan Casey added 17, and Daquan Ramey contributed 10 for the Glads, who were down four players suffering from COVID symptoms.

Josh Ellis led CIC (1-8, 0-1) with 19 points.

S4C continues its road trip at MACU on Saturday.

S4C Falls at Clinton 93-80

ROCK HILL, S.C. – South Carolina Central Christian College (S4C) used a quick start to jump out to an early lead but couldn’t keep the momentum as the Gladiators fell on the road to Clinton College 93-80 Tuesday night.

Central (0-2) made its first three shots from the field, including the first two by Lyric Evans, and converted a blocked shot by Kevin Butler into a bucket to take a 7-0 lead in the opening 1:13 before the Golden Bears began to chip away. Clinton (2-1) scored the next nine points to take its first lead and eventually claim a 51-34 advantage at halftime.

S4C was not done, however, and fought back to cut the margin to three on a Butler layup, 81-78, with 5:11 to play. But that was as close as the Glads would get, with Clinton separating itself from the visitors for the final 13-point difference.

Tavion McPherson came off the bench to lead the Gladiators with 19 points and 10 rebounds while DaQuan Ramsey added 17 points, Butler 13 and 10 boards, and Evans 11. Clinton’s Isaiah Borders led all scorers with 29.

The win was the Golden Bears’ second in a row over an NSAC opponent, having downed Atlantis 102-94 on Friday.

SC Central’s next contest is this Friday at Voorhees.