HBCU Basketball Team Punches Ticket To NAIA Men's National Basketball Championship Game

Langston University (35-1) utilized a solid defense to defeat the College of Idaho (32-4) 58-52, securing a spot in the 2024 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament game on March 26. The Lions will face Freed-Hardeman (TN) in the title contest at 8:00 PM CT inside the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.

Cortez Mosley sealed the win with a breakaway dunk, increasing the lead to 56-52 with 10.4 seconds remaining in the semifinal. He led the Lions with 16 points and added four rebounds. D'Monte Brown ended the match, making his five final shots while giving the Lions 12 points and four rebounds. Anthony Roy scored nine points, cleared seven rebounds, and posted five assists in the victory.
Samaje Morgan notched 17 points, and Jake O'Neil scored 10 points in the loss.

The Langston team won after a tied halftime score of 27, with 31 points scored in the second half compared to the Yotes' 25. A scoring edge came for the Lions with 38% from the field and 29% from 3-point range. Bench points (16 to 11) and points in the paint (16 to 11) also aided Langston's cause on the evening.

Two seasons ago, the HBCU program was 1-27 before improving to 31-3 in 2022-23 and falling to Georgetown College in the 2023 NAIA National Championship Tournament.

Tuesday's 2024 NAIA National Championship game will pit the Feed-Hardeman Lions (31-4) against the Langston Lions (35-1). The F-HU Lions' top scorers are Quan Lax (13.3 PPG), JJ Wheat (13.1 PPG), and Geraldo Lane (11.0 PPG).

Roy Anthony averaged 18.7 points, and Cortez Mosley (12.9) were Langston's top scorers on the season. The Lions will have to rely on their defense of holding opponents to 57.9 points per contest to bring home the national title trophy.