Fullerton, CA – The Hope International Men's basketball program punched their ticket to the 87th Annual Men's Basketball National Championship Opening Round and will head to Mishawaka, IN from March 14-15. The Royals earned an at large bid after finishing third in the GSAC regular season. The Royals will take on GPAC Tournament Champions Morningside on Friday, March 14 at 4:00 PM PT / 7:00 PM ET.

Read more about the four teams competing for a spot at the NAIA Championships in Kansas City, MO.

#4 Bethel (22-8)
The Pilots are the No. 14 ranked team in the country and clinched an automatic bid to the NAIA Championships after finishing second in the Crossroads League to earn their 19th appearance. The Pilots are led by Trent Edwards who was named First Team All-Crossroads after averaging 12.8 PPG. Three Pilots were named to the All-Crossroads team along with their Head Coach who received Coach of the Year honors. The Pilots finished 14-4 in the Crossroads League and went 3-5 against the top 25.

#13 Peru State (22-8)
The Bobcats earned an at large bid out of the Heart of America Athletic Conference after finishing third place in the regular season to earn their 21st appearance. The Bobcats had three players named to the All-HAAC team and are led by Carlos Hines who averages 18.6 PPG. The Bobcats finished 17-7 in the HAAC and went 1-2 against the top 25.

#5 Morningside (24-7)
The Mustangs clinched an automatic bid by winning the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Championship after finishing the regular season in fourth place to earn their 21st appearance. The Mustangs had five players named to the All GPAC team and are led by Joey Skoff who averaged 22.1 points per game on his way to becoming Morningside's career-leading scorer at 2,274 points. The Mustangs went 4-3 against the top 25 and have common opponents with the Royals as they fell to Arizona Christian 79-75 and took down OUAZ 80-78.

#12 Hope International (22-7)
The Royals earned at at large bid to the NAIA Championships after finishing third in the Great Southwest Athletic Conference with a 10-4 record for their 11th appearance. The Royals had two players named All-GSAC and are led by Nick Hopkins who finished fifth in the GSAC regular season averaging 15 PPG. The Royals went 2-3 against the top 25 and have common opponents with the Mustangs as they went 1-2 against Arizona Christian winning 63-55 and losing 68-62 and 69-60. They also went 2-0 against OUAZ winning 76-62 and 67-56.