A 19-8 run near the end of the first half broke a tie, and a great second-half performance at the line led TBC Eagles Men's Basketball to a win in the opening round of the NCCAA Division 2 South Region Tournament over the Chargers of Southeastern Baptist College. The Eagles shot 48% from the field overall in falling just 1 point shy of triple digits to win the game 99-73.

Diego Fernandez scored 20 of his game-leading 29 points in just the second half as he sank 6 shots (1 a three) and all 7 free throw attempts in helping to lead the Eagles to the win. Overall, he was 9 for 19 with 2 three-pointers and 9 made free throws in 9 attempts.

Xavier Rose and Ian Kanady each scored 16 points in similar ways. Rose had 6 baskets, 2 of them threes, and sank a pair of foul shots; Kanady had 5 baskets, 3 of them threes, and was 3 for 4 at the line. DJ Thompson and Brandon Hill each tallied 10 as two of the five men to reach double digits in scoring.

After a seesaw bulk of the first half in which the teams traded leads 9 times until they were tied at 25-25, Ethan Bray broke that tie with a layup that put TBC ahead to stay. Trinity then finished the half on a 19-8 run, including that layup, that featured Bray, Rose, Hill, Fernandez, and Thompson garnering the points.

The second half saw the Eagles outscore SEB 55-40 using 5 three-pointers and 18 made foul shots in 23 attempts.

Bray totaled 6 points while Brycen Rowland hit a 3-pointer and Adrian Walker, Gavin Korth-Loder, and Ja'Maryus Pringle each scored 2 and Jacquez Anderson, Shadrack Kakora, and Will Mosbach each sank a free throw.

Southeastern Baptist's Omarion McCann scored 24 points to lead the chargers, and three teammates – Johnny Sims (14), Ayden McDeavitt (12), and Garrison Breedlove (10) – all scored in double figures.

The Eagles advance to Friday's South Region semifinal and will face the host school, Bob Jones University. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EST. The winner will play for the title on Saturday with a trip to the NCCAA Division 2 National Championship Tournament on the line.