The Langston Lions kept their hopes of winning a NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship alive, taking down Eastern Oregon 86-59 to advance to the Sweet 16.
This marks the seventh win for Langston this season by a margin of at least 25 points and is the largest margin of victory for the Lions in an NAIA tournament game since they beat Ave Marie 91-61 in 2024.
In addition, the Lions extend their streak of advancing to the Round of 16 in the NAIA tournament in their four straight appearances under head coach Chris Wright.
Orlando Thomas led the Lions with 23 points on 67% shooting from the field, hitting four three-pointers. Through two games in the National tournament, Thomas has scored 45 points on 52% shooting, making four threes in each game.
It was a perfect shooting performance for Cameron McCoy, connecting on all eight of his shot attempts for 18 points total.
For the second straight game, Langston gets a win unscathed, delivering the first shot to take the lead and did not relinquish it for the remainder of the contest.
However, unlike their win over Bethel, which saw Langston have to fight for the win down the stretch, the struggle against Eastern Oregon came in the early stages.
Although they trailed for the entire first half, Eastern Oregon kept the game respectable, not falling behind by double digits until three minutes remaining.
Their transition defense was a big part of their ability to keep the game close, only allowing two fast-break points and two points off four first-half turnovers.
However, the second half would be a completely different story, as the Lions would build a 20-point advantage in the first five minutes thanks to a scoring outburst by Thomas.
Thomas scored eight of his team’s 14 points to begin the second half, including hitting a pair of three-pointers, with the team starting a perfect 6-for-6 from the field.
In the end, Langston’s depth helped push them through the finish line with ease, with the bench contributing 31 of the team’s 51 points in the second half.
Langston will now look forward to an opportunity to advance to the Regional Final when it takes on the number-one seed and reigning national championship runner-up, Oklahoma Wesleyan.
