The Langston Lions men’s basketball team’s worst-to-first story reaches a new chapter as they have secured their first-ever Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) regular season championship.
This comes as a result of Langston’s 76-60 Saturday night win over Kentucky Wesleyan which in turn gave them their second straight win.
They improve to 24-2 overall and 18-2 in conference play. With two games remaining, Langston needs wins in each contest to secure the most wins in a season in the past 10 years, surpassing their win total from 2015-2016.
Before this season, Langston held a combined record of 1-37 overall and an 0-37 record against the SAC in each of the past two seasons.
#LUMBB defeats Texas Wesleyan 76-60 … Lions improve to 24-2 overall and are now SOONER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS … 🦁🔥#goLions #FeartheRoar pic.twitter.com/perKb6Ieke
— Langston Athletics (@LangstonSports) February 12, 2023
Looking to turn around their program, the Lions brought in former Talladega College head coach Chris Wright (who had led the Tornadoes to the NAIA national championship the year before) to take over the team.
In addition to adding an entirely new roster of players, Langston quickly turned their losses into wins on their way to claiming the SAC regular season championship.
As a result, the Langston Lions now have an automatic bid in the NAIA national championship tournament making their first appearance since 2018.
Before they go for the national championship, Langston will wrap up their regular season with a pair of home games against North Texas at Dallas on February 16 and against Southwest Assemblies of God on February 18.