Oklahoma City – The Langston University men’s basketball team earned a return trip to the 87^th NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship final site at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., with a pair of wins over the past weekend on their home court in Langston, Okla.

The No. 4 seeded Lions won their opening round contest with a 64-51 win over No. 13 seed Saint Mary as Joshua Smith led the way with 13 points while Jamison Epps added 10 markers with Mario McKinney grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds in the contest.

Langston then needed overtime to defeat No. 5 seed Central Baptist 80-76 as Kameron Brice paced the Lions attack with 21 points and eight rebounds while McKinney chipped in with 16 points and five assists.

Langston advances to Kansas City to take on a familiar foe in the No. 1 seed College of Idaho on Thursday, March 20, starting at 3 p.m. The Lions defeated the Yotes in the national semifinal last season 58-52.

Fans will be able to view all of the games from Kansas City on the NAIA Network.