Langston, Okla. – No. 2 seed Langston needed some big shots and some timely defense to claim the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Championship presented by The Oklahoma Ford Dealers by defeating the top-seed Nelson 65-62 at the C.F. Gayles Fieldhouse in Langston, Okla., Tuesday evening. This is the third consecutive season in which the Lions have won the conference tournament.
 
The Lions broke out to an early 11-point advantage over the first eight and a half minutes of the contest as they were 7-of-11 from the field while their defense limited Nelson to only three made shots as they also forced three turnovers to grab a 19-8 advantage. Bryce Monroe scored nine points during that opening stretch. Nelson battled back throughout the later stages of the half and cut the Langston lead to 35-32 after a Justin Collins triple with 44 seconds remaining, but Darrius Hughes scored a layup late to give Langston a 37-32 halftime break.
 
The Lions took advantage of a 13-8 run over the first 5:27 of the second half to extend the lead to 50-40 with 14:24 left in regulation after hitting six of their first eight shots. But, Nelson mounted a comeback as they put on a 21-12 run over the next 11:52 of the contest to grab a 61-60 lead with 2:50 remaining, which was their first and only lead of the game as Langston as Monroe hit three free throws and Mario McKinney hit a layup to give Langston the victory. 
 
Monroe led the Langston attack with 17 points while going 4-of- 6 from the charity stripe. Amoro Lado added 10 markers with seven boards, and McKinney grabbed seven caroms and handed out five assist as Langston improved to 24-7 on the year.
 
Justin Collins paced Nelson with 20 points and seven boards while CJ Hall tossed in 13 points, and Jordan Jenkins poured in 10 points and snagged 16 boards as Nelson fell to 23-8 on the year.
 
Both teams will wait to hear their names on Thursday night as the NAIA will announce their 2025 National Tournament field at 7 p.m.
 
The 2025 SAC All-Tournament Team
 
Brett Leach, Wayland Baptist
Juwan White, Mid-America Christian
Justin Collins, Nelson
CJ Hall, Nelson
Amoro Ladd, Langston
Tournament Most Valuable Player – Bryce Monroe, Langston