Good morning, NAIA hoops fans!

Conference basketball wasted no time giving us something to talk about Wednesday night.

Union Commonwealth, Reinhardt and Pikeville all opened Appalachian Athletic Conference play with road wins. Jabari Covington poured in 32 points, Zion Blevins put together an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double, and Columbia got a combined 44 points from Zach Smith and Jamison McKenzie.

Elsewhere, Warner won a two-point game to improve to 5–1, while Hope International picked up a double-digit victory. And the first regular-season NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 gave us a new No. 1.

Let’s dive in.

Games of the Day

Union Commonwealth 96, Montreat 88

Union Commonwealth’s first conference win came with a big night from Covington and a whole lot of work at the free-throw line.

Covington scored 32 points as the Bulldogs went to Montreat and came away with a 96–88 victory. Devin Dunn added 21 points and 10 rebounds, making 17 of his 18 free-throw attempts.

Read that again: 17-for-18.

Union finished 42-for-49 at the line, good for 85.7 percent. That is a remarkable amount of production without the clock moving, and Dunn accounted for more than a third of those makes.

The Bulldogs built a 42–28 halftime lead before Montreat scored 60 points after the break. The Cavaliers made the second half considerably more uncomfortable, but Union had enough offense to leave with the win.

RJ Manginello scored 21 points and Christian Sanders added 20 for Montreat.

Union improves to 2–4 overall and 1–0 in the AAC. After a difficult start to the season, getting conference play started with a road win gives the Bulldogs something to build on. Official box score

Reinhardt 72, Tennessee Wesleyan 68

Reinhardt and Tennessee Wesleyan went into halftime tied at 34. The Eagles won the second half by four and left Athens with a conference-opening victory.

Arael Jones led Reinhardt with 21 points and eight rebounds. Travis Hamilton supplied 17 points off the bench, giving the Eagles another scoring option in a game with little separation.

Jones and Hamilton combined for 38 of Reinhardt’s 72 points. That production helped the Eagles improve to 4–2 overall and 1–0 in conference play.

Winning away from home is a good way to start any league schedule. Winning a four-point game after a tied first half makes this one especially valuable for Reinhardt. Official box score

More From the AAC

No. 20 Pikeville 75, Bluefield 72

Pikeville’s game on the day of the new coaches’ poll required a second-half response.

The Bears trailed Bluefield 38–34 at halftime before outscoring the Rams 41–34 after the break to earn a 75–72 road victory.

Blevins finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Jaylan Rigdon added 16 points. Together, they supplied 34 points as Pikeville improved to 3–1 overall and 1–0 in AAC play.

The Bears are No. 20 in the November 11 coaches’ poll. Wednesday’s three-point result was an early reminder that a national ranking does not make conference road games any easier. Official box score

Columbia (SC) 88, Spartanburg Methodist 69

Columbia had the most comfortable margin of the four verified AAC results.

Smith scored 23 points and McKenzie added 21 as Columbia defeated Spartanburg Methodist 88–69. The duo accounted for exactly half of Columbia’s scoring.

The 19-point win moves Columbia to 4–3 overall and 1–0 in the AAC. Official box score

Columbia, Union Commonwealth, Reinhardt and Pikeville each have a conference win on the board. Three earned theirs away from home.

View the updated AAC standings.

Top Performers

• Jabari Covington, Union Commonwealth: 32 points in the road win at Montreat.
• Devin Dunn, Union Commonwealth: 21 points, 10 rebounds and 17-for-18 shooting at the free-throw line.
• Zion Blevins, Pikeville: 18 points and 12 rebounds in the Bears’ three-point win at Bluefield.
• Arael Jones, Reinhardt: 21 points and eight rebounds against Tennessee Wesleyan.
• Zach Smith, Columbia (SC): 23 points against Spartanburg Methodist.
• Jamison McKenzie, Columbia (SC): 21 points in Columbia’s conference-opening win.
• Travis Hamilton, Reinhardt: 17 points off the bench.
• RJ Manginello, Montreat: 21 points against Union Commonwealth.
• Christian Sanders, Montreat: 20 points against Union Commonwealth.

Around the NAIA

Warner 78, Florida National 76

Warner improved to 5–1 with a 78–76 victory over Florida National.

The Royals trailed 35–32 at halftime, then scored 46 points in the second half to turn a three-point deficit into a two-point win.

Warner has five wins through six games, and Wednesday’s result added another close-game test to that opening stretch.

Hope International 88, Stanton 78

Hope International defeated Stanton 88–78 to improve to 2–3.

The Royals picked up a needed win on the same day the new coaches’ poll placed them outside the Top 25. Wednesday’s result gives Hope something to build on as November continues. Official schedule

News and Notes

Oklahoma Wesleyan takes over No. 1

The first regular-season NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 was released Wednesday, with Oklahoma Wesleyan moving from a preseason tie for No. 11 to the top spot.

The Eagles received 14 first-place votes. Indiana Wesleyan moved to No. 2, followed by Grace, Rocky Mountain and Georgetown.

Morningside made the largest jump among teams ranked in both polls, climbing 16 spots from No. 25 to No. 9. Georgia Gwinnett moved from No. 18 to No. 12.

Montana Tech, St. Thomas (FL), Life, Bethel (KS) and Embry-Riddle (AZ) entered the rankings.

Read our complete coaches’ poll breakdown. Records listed in that poll are the poll’s snapshot, not updated postgame records.

For the running board, visit the NHR Scores & Schedules page.

Good At Basketball.