By Justin Jarrett, NAIA Media Coordinator

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —  (Individual Results | Team Results | Combo Results | Photos) Defending champion Coastal Georgia began to pull away from the field Thursday at the NAIA Men's Golf National Championship. 

The top-ranked Mariners finished off a 1-over-par 289 in the second round, which was suspended due to lightning Wednesday evening, and carded a third round of 5-under-par 283 in the afternoon to open up a 16-shot advantage over second-place William Woods (Mo.). Cal State San Marcos is another shot back at 7-over-par, followed by Johnson & Wales (Fla.) at 8-over. 

There isn't much more drama atop the individual leaderboard, as Dalton State's Sean Elliott shot 7-under-par 65 to get to 14-under for the tournament and build a six-shot lead over Coastal Georgia's Alastair Tidcombe. Texas Wesleyan's Nikolaj Brons-Piche is third at 7-under. Elliott made six birdies on his second nine, including four in-a-row, to card his third-straight round of 69-or-better and begin to pull away from the field. 

The field will be cut to 17 teams plus six individuals for the final round, which begins at 7:30 a.m. Friday. The top three teams will tee off beginning at 9:10 a.m.