Kansas City, Missouri – The road to repeat as national champions ended for the College of Idaho men's basketball team in a 58-52 loss to Langston on Monday night.
The matchup of two teams, who have spent the entire season in the top five of the national polls, lived up to its billing. Neither team was able to sustain a lead in the back and forth contest with the contest tied on nine occasions and eight lead changes.
After being fouled on a drive to the basket, C of I's Drew Wyman made 1 of 2 free throw that tied the game at 52 with :44 left in the contest. In a scramble for the rebound on the missed second attempt, both the Langston defender and the Yotes' Jake O'Neil went for the board. After a review of the scramble, it was determined that the ball was last touched by the Yotes to give the ball to Langston.
On the ensuring possession, the Lions went back in front on a layup by Jay Allen-Tovar for a 54-52 lead. College of Idaho had a chance to tie it but Langston blocked its third shot of the game and came away with the defensive rebound. A layup and dunk in the final :11 seconds sealed the win to advance Langston to the national championship for the first time in program history.
Overshadowed in the loss is the efforts in the game, ultimately in the season was a lot of great efforts for The College of Idaho. Samaje Morgan scored a game-high 17 points, including an 8-for-8 effort from the free-throw line. The effort at the free-throw line is the 30th time in program history that a player has made at least all eight of his free throw attempts. He was joined in double figures by Jake O'Neil, who wrapped up his career with a 10-point, eight-rebound effort.
College of Idaho ends the season with a 32-4 mark, there is not a single college men's basketball program with at least 30 wins in the last six seasons. It is the third-straight season that College of Idaho has won 32 or more games. In the last three seasons, the Yotes are an impressive 100-10.
With the win, Langston is now 35-1 on the season as they were paced by a 14-point game from Cortez Mosley and reserve D'Monte Brown added 12.