Joplin, MO – The consolation bracket opener took place Thursday morning at Ozark Christian College, with the Grace Christian University men's basketball team taking on Calvary University (MO) in the second ever match-up between the two teams in program history.

The Tigers came out firing on all cylinders, knocking down five three-point shots and building a 19-4 lead just four minutes into the game. At this point, Calvary would start to steadily chip away at the Grace lead until the halftime break, trimming it to 40-38 after a three-ball on their final possession of the half.

A slow start to the second half for Grace resulted in Calvary taking the lead and extending it to 57-50 with under 10:00 remaining. The Tigers found themselves down one point with two minutes remaining, when freshman Zac Yorke put in a lay-up to give them a 68-67 lead. A couple stellar defensive possessions and another basket from Yorke with 30 seconds remaining gave the Tigers a 70-67 lead with one defensive stop needed to solidify a victory. They did just that, forcing a tough look from Calvary at the buzzer to survive and advance to Saturday's NCCAA 5^th Place game.

Yorke led the Tigers with a career-high 13 points on a perfect 6-6 shooting from the field. Tyler Robinson was the only other Grace player in double figures scoring, with 11 points and a 3-3 clip from beyond the arc – also a career high.

The Tigers will face Manhattan Christian College Saturday at 3:30 pm in the 5^th Place game.