ST. MARYS, Ohio — The Bowling Green Christian Academy boy’s varsity basketball team clinched the Independent Christian Schools of Ohio Athletic Conference’s West Division title with a pair a league victories Saturday at the Fairbanks Center located on the campus of Cross Oak Camp & Retreat Center on the northern banks of Grand Lake.

BGCA also captured a re-designated non-conference game at the end of the day to improve to 19-3 overall with one game to play before its state tournament. The Lions have won 18 of their last 19 games with the only setback during that stretch coming in overtime to Mt. Gilead Christian. BGCA currently has won 10 straight after owning an 8-game streak earlier in the campaign before falling to MGC.

BGCA won its opening game against host Grand Lake Christian, 46-28. The Lions jumped out to a commanding 16-2 advantage after the first quarter and led 28-14 at the half. BGCA took a 38-23 cushion into the fourth stanza before settling for an 18 point victory over the Eagles.

Sophomore Joshua Kunstmann paced BGCA with a team-high 10 points, while classmate Trent Thompson added seven. Senior John Fyfe chipped in six as did junior Jackson Hammack. Senior Will Brose had a team-best eight rebounds, while Kunstmann hauled down six. Senior Cole Krogman was GLC’s top scorer with 13.

BGCA then clinched the West Division with a hard-fought, 55-48, come-from-behind win over Castine Christian. Castine opened a 14-5 lead over the sluggish Lions over the opening eight minutes of play, but BGCA chipped away to trail by just six (19-13) heading into the midway intermission.

BGCA gained its first lead since early in the game when senior Titus Angel hit a pair of free throws to put the Lions ahead 26-24 with 3:07 left in the third quarter. After a few tie scores, CC recaptured the lead on a pair of charity scores (32-30) before senior Hudson Thomas closed the period with a pair of late baskets to put BG up 34-32 heading into the final session.

In the fourth, BG broke a 34-34 deadlock with a 6-point run to open its biggest lead of the game. However, CC battled back to close with one at 44-43 before the Lions pushed their advantage to eight after a senior Jaydin Pinkney 3-pointer, two made foul shots by Thomas, and a hoop by Brose. The Cavaliers got BGCA’s lead down to four (52-48) with under 30 seconds to play, but three more Lion points from the foul line sealed the victory. BG finishes league play at 8-1, while Castine closes at 3-4.

Titus was BGCA’s top scorer with 18, while Thomas scored 11 and Brose had nine. Pinkney and senior John Fyfe added six apiece. Fyfe, Angel, and Brose each had nine boards. Thomas grabbed six carroms.

Due to weather cancellations and lack of make-up games by other teams, the league designated BGCA’s second game against Castine as a “non-conference” affair because of the resulting unbalanced schedule implications. The second Castine game had been added to the schedule in early January to help create a balanced conference slate.

A tired BG squad responded with another come-from-behind win over CC, 56-50, for its unprecedented third win of the day. The Lions took a 15-13 lead into the first break, but Castine secured a 27-23 cushion at halftime. The Cavaliers entered the fourth quarter with a three-point margin (38-35), but BG outscored its opponent, 21-12 over the final eight minutes sparked by six points from Brose and five by Pinkney.

BGCA found itself down by six early in the fourth (43-37), but went on an 11-4 run to capture the lead at 48-47 with two minutes left on a basket by Pinkney. The lead marked BG’s first since the middle of the third. The Lions pushed their advantage to nine under a minute to go before Castine’s Calvin Jones hit his fourth 3-pointer to close the scoring.

Thomas was BGCA’s top point man with 10. Kunstmann produced nine to go along with eight each by Brose and Angel. Senior Brent Boston contributed seven. Pinkney had six rebounds to lead BG, while Angel and Thomas had five apiece.

Jones finished the game with 18 points and scored 41 over the two contests with eight treys.

BG plays next on Thursday, Feb. 15, with a non-conference tilt at State Line Christian in Temperance, Mich. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. The Lions should have a full line-up for that contest with the return of senior starter Caleb Kunstmann and sophomore Kole Evans who have been sidelined with sickness.

The Lions open ICSO State Tournament play on Thursday, Feb. 22 against an opponent yet to be determined. As the top seed in the West (8-1 record), BGCA received a bye into the quarterfinals as did Northwest Ohio (West 2; 7-1), Gospel Haven (East 1; 11-1), and Marion (East 2; 9-1). A total of 14 teams will be vying for the state title. The Final Four is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 24 and Championship Monday is Feb. 26. All tournament games will be played in Mt. Gilead.