HOUGHTON, N.Y. -- Houghton men's basketball has qualified for the 2025 NCCAA Division I Men's Basketball National Tournament being held in Point Lookout, Mo., March 19-22.

The eight-team championship is being hosted by the College of the Ozarks.

Houghton, who earned the qualifying spot for the Midwest Region, is the No. 6 seed and will open the tournament against No. 3 Ohio Christian University on Wednesday, March 19 at 9:45 p.m. Eastern. Each team is guaranteed three games during the week.

The Highlanders are currently 13-13 and having one its most successful seasons in over two decades. Houghton reached double digits in wins for the first time since 2016-17, and it is the most season wins since 1994-95. This is just the second national tournament appearance for the program (1982-83).

"This is a really big step in a series of big steps for our program this season," said Head Coach Jeremy Bialek. "To be the second Houghton men's basketball team competing at the NCCAA National Championship is an honor and a challenge. There will be a lot of very good teams out there. We want to show what we have and compete for this title. Equally important, this means more practices and games for the core of guys we will return next year, which is invaluable post-season experience for next year's squad."

Houghton is led by senior Jajuan Preaster, who averages 17.2 points per game. His 1,482 career points rank sixth on the all-time Houghton scoring board.  He is the only men's basketball player in Houghton history to collect at least 1,400 points, 500 rebounds (554), 250 assists (257) and 150 steals (154). Sophomore Lou Bellamy averages 16.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, while graduate student Christian Sage averages 16 points and 3.4 assists per game.

See more about the qualifying teams and the schedule of games at the Tournament Website.