CONWAY, Ark. -- Junior forward Nicholas Buffalo, the Tournament's Most Valuable Player, scored 21 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds in helping lead St. Thomas to a 92-74 victory over Concordia (Texas) in the 2026 SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament championship game on Sunday afternoon at Grove Gymnasium on the campus of Hendrix College. Official Tournament Website | Photo Gallery | Postgame Interview | Men's Tournament Stats
The third-ranked team in the nation according the most recent NCAA Power Index, St. Thomas (26-1) clinches the league's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship and will await word of its opponent and location when the bracket is announced on Monday. St. Thomas defended it's tournament title and improved to 4-0 all-time in the SCAC championship game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Concordia scored the first eight points of the game and led 12-2 at the first media timeout (15:40).
- St. Thomas gradually started chipping away, and took their first lead at 23:22 with 7:57 remaining in the half. The Celts went on a 22-7 run over a 7+ minute span of the first half, and Concordia was held without a field goal - going 0-for-8 from the floor - as St. Thomas took a 35-26 lead with 3:27 remaining in the period.
- The Tornados only had one field goal over the final nine minutes of the first half and the Celts took a 44-33 lead into the halftime locker room.
- A pair of made free throws by Concordia's Aaron San Miguel cut the UST lead to 44-37 with 18:57 remaining but that would be as close as the Tornados would get the rest of the way.
- The final margin of 92-74 represented the Celts' largest lead of the game.
- Nicholas Buffalo: 21 points, 13 rebounds, 8-for-10 FGs, 2 steals
- Corey Thompson: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
- Nathan Kongolo: 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks
- Angel Johnson: 13 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
- Percy Green: 22 points, 9 rebounds
- Joey Ramirez: 22 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
- Anariss Brandon: 12 points, 6 rebounds
- St. Thomas (26-1) earned the program's fourth SCAC tournament championship and became the first repeat champion since the Celts won back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. St. Thomas improved to 4-0 all-time in the title game.
- The win extended the St. Thomas winning streak to 23 games which is the second-longest in SCAC history, trailing only the 25-game win streak the 2007-08 Centre College team put together.
- St. Thomas' Nicholas Buffalo was named the Tournament MVP. Joining Buffalo on the All-Tournament team were teammates Corey Thompson and Nathan Kongolo. The Concordia duo of Percy Green and Joey Ramirez, as well as Jackson Mayes of LeTourneau, also earned All-Tournament nods.
- The Celts improved to 9-2 all-time in SCAC postseason play, while the Tornados fall to 1-2 all-time in SCAC tournament play.
- The 92 points scored by St. Thomas was a season-high - the previous high of 89 had been achieved in their season-opener against College of Biblical Studies.
- Concordia (23-5) will await word on a potential at-large bid to the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship when the bracket is announced on Monday.
