The Langston Lions fought hard in their NAIA Fab Four contest against Ave Maria, battling through early offensive struggles to come away with a 72-69 overtime victory, clinching a spot in the NAIA men’s basketball championship game.
This is Langston’s second national championship appearance in the past three years and the third in the career of head coach Chris Wright (led Talladega to the national title game in 2022).
Orlando Thomas once again led the Lions in scoring, finishing with 17 points, connecting on all eight of his free throw attempts.
Junior forward Trey Clarke nearly posted a double-double, tallying 12 points and nine rebounds. Antonio Lewis scored 11 points while Omar Henry came off the bench to chip in 10 points and five rebounds.
The game started slowly for the Lions offensively, having to work from the outside due to the defensive pressure coming from Ave Maria.
With their three-point shot not falling, Ave Maria took advantage by building a 9-0 lead in the opening four minutes of the contest.
Before the Lions could truly settle into the game offensively, they already found themselves in a 20-8 hole with 8:15 remaining in the first half.
Despite shooting 26% compared to 43% by Ave Maria in the first half, Langston ended the first half only trailing 28-21.
This momentum carried over into the second half as the Lions opened on a 15-5 run, taking their first lead of the game in the first four minutes.
The duration of the second half would be a nip-and-tuck affair, trading the lead back and forth until the final minutes of regulation.
One key sequence came with 3:34 remaining when Ave Maria connected on a desperation three-pointer off the backboard with the shot clock winding down to take a 54-52 lead.
The very next offensive possession, Langston took the lead back on a three-pointer by Robert Alexander.
In the final sequence of regulation, Thomas connected on a tough layup through contact to give Langston a 57-56 lead with 17 seconds left.
However, Ave Maria would draw a foul with a chance to win the game, but could only split the pair of free throws to send the game to overtime.
A 5-0 run to start overtime was enough cushion Langston needed to get them through the finish line, with a three-pointer by Thomas with a minute remaining serving as the dagger.
Langston will now move forward to the NAIA National Championship game, where they will match up with Freed-Hardeman in a rematch of the 2024 title contest.
In that game, despite holding a six-point lead with 54 seconds remaining, the Lions surrendered a 10-0 run the rest of the way, ending in a 71-67 loss.
In addition to seeking retribution for their 2024 loss, the Lions are also looking to become the first HBCU to win the NAIA Men’s Basketball Championship since 1977.
