KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two of the best defensive teams in the nation faced off in Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium on Tuesday night for their shot at the 2021 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship, but it was the Shawnee State Bears that walked away with the red banner and a 77-68 victory.
An historic season came to an end in the first-ever trip to the national title game for the LC State Men's Basketball team. After routing SAGU the night before, the Warriors could not overcome the 10-point deficit from the first half. The Bears commanded the boards and held the Warriors to 34.8 shooting percentage from the field.
Just getting to the title game was an impressive feat for LC State. The Warriors did not play a conference schedule with the majority of the Cascade unable to play. They dealt with canceled games, rescheduling and having to hit the road to get games in. Finishing off the 2020-21 season as the National Runner-Up is something Head Coach
Austin Johnson is proud of.
""Didn't have our best stuff tonight, but our guys battled and stayed true to our identity of competing with confidence," Johnson said. "I am so proud of this group and what they've done on and off the court this year. No team in the history of our program had to endure what this group has in regards to competing during Covid, the stoppages, quarantines, playing an independent schedule, etc. This group not only handled those challenges, but also played championship basketball. Tonight's loss doesn't change the character of this group or what they've been able to do. I am so thankful for them and my assistant coaches for all they've sacrificed this year. They've embodied a Warrior spirit."
The Warriors finished the season with a record of 22-2 for the highest winning percentage in program history at .917.
Shawnee jumped out to a 4-0 lead out of the gate, but a basket by Khalil Stevenson put LC State on the board. A 3 by the senior a minute later put the Warriors in front 5-4. The Bears responded with a run of five to regain the lead before a 3 by Damek Mitchell cut the deficit to one.
Stevenson tied the game 10-10 at the 14-minute mark with a layup after bringing the ball up the court, but a run by SSU pushed the Bears ahead 17-10. Five points by Trystan Bradley cut that lead to two at 11:42.
The Shawnee lead grew to eight by the midway point of the half as the Bears' defense kept the Warriors at bay.
A 3 by Bradley and two free throws by Mitchell kept the game within reach at 28-23 but turnovers came back to haunt LC State. Shawnee pushed the lead to 10, 33-23, with under five to play. By the end of the first half, the Warriors trailed 40-30.
The Shawnee State defense continued its dominance in the second half as it grew its commanding lead to 44-30 two minutes in. The Bears matched Warrior baskets with 3-pointers, but LC kept themselves in the game with a 3 by Bailey and a layup by Mitchell.
Bradley cut the SSU lead to six with a layup at 12:30 before grabbing a rebound and sending Albright to the basket a minute later. Shawnee regained its momentum to push ahead by eight at 9:32 and held the margin for the rest of the game.
A triple by Mitchell cut the deficit to four, 62-58, with just under five to play, but the Bears dominated the boards to avoid second-chance points by the Warriors.
In its first trip to a national title game, the Warriors battled hard and played with confidence and joy, but ultimately fell short.
Mitchell led LC State with 21 points including four 3-pointers. Stevenson added 19 with three triples, and Bradley scored 11. Mitchell grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and dealt five assists.
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