For the third time this year, Champion took on NAIA Arkansas Baptist College from Little Rock, AR. Splitting the series 1-1, losing the first game of the year by 2, and defeating ABC at home 82-66, this would be the final matchup for the two teams and this one for all the marbles. Your Champion Tigers had the home court advantage for this one, but the Buffaloes travel well, and the Champion Community Center was absolutely rocking early. A slow paced game for the most part, Champion was able to pull away, never trailing for the whole 40 minutes. The Tiger starters would combine for 74 of the teams 79 points. The final score was 79-68.

In the first half, the Tigers struggled to score, partly due to the slow pace of Arkansas Baptist. Champion got out to an early lead, Arkansas Baptist never would go away, and always kept it with in striking distance. Braylon Hawkins led the way with 11 points in the first half, followed closely by AJ Williams with 10. Champion would have a 9 point lead with 3 minutes left in the Half, but a massive run by ABC would see us going into half tied up, 30-30. The Champion Tigers shot a decent 42% from the field, but with limited possessions saw one of the lowest scoring halves of the year for the Tigers.

In the second half, Champion shot the same amount of shots (29), but made a lot more. Offensively, the Tigers took off, following the hot hand of AJ Williams, Jason Garcia, and Xavier Hall. Shooting 55% from the floor and 62% for 3, The Champion Christian scored 49 points in the half. Arkansas Baptist Buff's took the scoring up a notch, scoring 38, but it wouldn't be enough. Champion would go on to win 79-68, with a highly efficient offensive win. 

Some notable performances from tonight's game:

AJ Williams - 26 points, 9 assists on 8/13 shooting and 6/10 for 3

Braylon Hawkins - 16 points, 7 rebounds on 5/11 shooting

KJ Corder - 12 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds on 5/11 shooting

Xavier Hall - 11 points, 7 rebounds on 5/10 shooting

Jason Garcia - 9 points on 4/6 shooting