Langston University men win back-to-back titles

Anthony Roy poured in a game-high 25 points to lead the No. 2 Langston University Lions past Mid-America Christian 55-44 on Tuesday night, claiming their second straight Sooner Athletic Conference tournament championship.

“MACU deserves a lot of credit for defending us the way they did,” Langston University head coach and reigning SAC Coach of the Year Chris Wright said. “They were tough, physical, and made every shot difficult. This was a national tournament type of game; we needed this tonight. I’m proud of our guys for finding a way to make enough plays down the stretch to win this one.”

It was tough sledding in the opening half with both offenses gaining no clear advantage. The Lions led 15-14 at halftime but hit only 23 percent (seven-of-30) while halting the MACU offense to 19 percent (four-of-21) from the field.

Lions were able to get a bit of breathing room, helped by two three-pointers from Roy and a jumper by Cortez Mosley to put Langston up 33-26 at the 10:40 mark in the second half. MACU’s Seth Hurd cut the deficit to five at 41-36 with 6:24 remaining but the Evangels never got any closer.

Langston University picks up its second straight SAC tournament championship to pair with its second straight SAC regular season championship they clinched back on February 15th. In addition to the conference championships, the wins have also stacked up for the Lions and Wright.

Since taking the helm of the Langston men’s basketball program, Wright holds a 61-4 win-loss record and a 41-3 mark in conference play. Tuesday’s win over MACU also gave Wright a 5-0 record at Langston vs the Evangels.

Roy finished with 25 points on nine-of-19 shooting in 35 minutes of action. This is the 13th time this season the SAC Player of the Year has scored over 20 points in a contest. Toru Dean and Majok Kuath tied for second on the team in scoring with seven points apiece.

Langston University (30-1) now awaits their tournament draw in the NAIA Men’s Basketball Championship Opening Round which will be unveiled on March 7 at 6 p.m. by the NAIA on their YouTube Channel. The Lions gained an automatic bid to the opening round by way of winning the SAC regular season title and will not have to travel far as they were selected as one of the 16 host sites for the NAIA Men’s Basketball First and Second Rounds which starts Saturday, March 15.