2025 CAC Men’s Basketball Championship Begins with Major Upset

Eighth-seeded Carolina University (North Carolina) and No. 2 seed Arkansas Baptist College advanced in the 2025 Continental Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship bracket following Thursday's action at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas.

Carolina upset top seed and defending tournament champion Florida College 86-80 before Arkansas Baptist earned a 65-55 victory against No. 7 seed Haskell Indian Nations.

Carolina becomes the first No. 8 seed to win its CAC tournament opener since 2020 when Lincoln University (Illinois) knocked off Washington Adventist University (Maryland). Meanwhile, the No. 1 seed in the bracket has lost its tournament opener in three of the last six conference tournaments.

Quarterfinal round action continues Friday, February 28, with No. 3 seed Washington Adventist playing No. 6 seed Spartanburg Methodist College (South Carolina) at 3 p.m. Then, No. 4 seed Fisher College (Massachusetts) faces No. 5 Northern New Mexico College at 5 p.m.

Game 1: No. 8 Carolina University 86, No. 1 Florida College 80

Carolina University (North Carolina) made a big CAC postseason debut, with seven 3-pointers in the first half and four players in double figures leading to an 86-80 win against defending tournament champion Florida College.

Aundree Polk led the Bruins' charge with 25 points and 15 rebounds in the upset victory. Davon Cottle chipped in with 14 points and Trey Crawford added 12 points off the bench. Zivko Damjanovic rounded out the team's balanced scoring attack with 10 points.

Carolina jumped out a 39-29 halftime lead behind the strong outside shooting. The team used a 12-0 run over a six-minute span to take a 37-25 lead following a Cottle free throw at the 1:19 mark.

Polk drained a 3-pointer with 16:23 remaining to give the Bruins a commanding 48-33 lead. Consecutive 3-point field goals by Polk extended the lead to 19 points, at 56-37, with 12:02 left.

Florida College rallied with a 14-4 run later in the second half trimming the deficit to seven points, at 69-62, following two free throws by Isiah Shirley at the 3:35 mark. A layup by Johnny Torrence brought the Falcons within 77-72 at the 1:32 mark.

Torrence scored a team-high 17 points off the bench. Nate Duda added 15 points and Malik Beauford scored 14 points.

Game 2: No. 2 Arkansas Baptist College 65, No. 7 Haskell Indian Nations University 55

Arkansas Baptist College scored 16 of the first 20 points in the second half to defeat tournament host Haskell Indian Nations University (Kansas) 65-55 to close out Thursday's quarterfinal tournament action.

Safee Shepard led the Buffaloes with 12 points and Nate Braden scored 10 points for the victors. Malik Kaba grabbed 14 rebounds and added 10 points and was followed by Deavon Bankston, who rounded out the double-figure scorers, and Nick Boye, who chipped in eight points.

Arkansas Baptist relied on a stingy defensive effort to hold Haskell Indian Nations to 32% shooting and 24 first-half points

The Buffaloes stretched their 29-24 halftime lead to a 13-point advantage, at 41-28, following a layup by Moye at the 17:03 mark. Kaba converted a layup on the team's next offensive opposition to take a 43-28 lead.

Haskell Indian Nations got within eight points, at 55-47, after a layup from DK Middleton with 4:45 left in the contest.

Bryce Strom led the tournament hosts with 15 points, while Trey Gaines scored 10 points and Middleton added nine points and nine rebounds.