Oklahoma City – Langston and Oklahoma City earned victories in their semifinal contests to advance to the championship game of the 2026 Sooner Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament presented by Athletic Solutions. The title game will start at 3 p.m. at the Abe Lemons Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla.
No. 4 Oklahoma City 91, No. 1 Nelson 85
Beau Tranter paced a quartet of Oklahoma City double-digit scores as the Stars took the lead in the early part of the first half and never looked back as they defeated the No.1 seed Nelson 91-85 to advance to the SAC Men’s Basketball Tournament championship for the first time since 2019.
The two teams went back and forth to start the game until Tranter hit a shot in the paint to put the Stars ahead for good at 8-7 with 17:47 remaining in the first half. Oklahoma City pushed the advantage out to 13 points on three occasions in the opening half until the Lions were able to score the final four points of the frame to give the Stars a 47-38 halftime advantage.
The Lions’ offense continued to cut into the deficit as they scored the first seven points of the half to make the score 47-45 with 17:37 remaining, but Oklahoma City answered with a 17-3 run of their own over the next three and a half minutes to extend their lead to 64-48. Nelson was able to battle back in the half but could not get any closer than four points as the Stars held on to advance to the title game.
Tranter paced the Stars’ attack with a double-double as he scored a game-high 23 points and collected 10 rebounds, while Brian Alexander and Jonas Carlisle each chipped in with 19 points, and Jackson Hopps poured in 15 markers to help Oklahoma City improve to 20-10 on the year. Micah Clark scored 17 points to lead the Lions, while Trelin Green and Ozavian Buford each added 15 points as Nelson fell to 25-5 on the season.
No. 2 Langston 75, No. 3 Wayland Baptist 53
Langston used a late scoring run at the end of the first half to seize control of a tight semifinal matchup and then maintained the advantage throughout the second half to cruise to a 75-53 victory over Wayland Baptist. This will be the fourth consecutive trip to the championship game for the Lions.
The second semifinal started like the first one, with both teams playing on even terms, until Orlando Thomas scored on a three-point play to give Langston a 15-12 advantage. The Lions then scored the final nine out of 11 points in the half to take a 24-14 advantage to the locker room.
Langston then outscored the Pioneers 51-39 in the second half on the power of shooting 16-of-26 from the field for 61.5 percent, plus the Lions hit 16 free throws over the final 20 minutes. Wayland tried to keep pace in the second half by hitting six three-point shots, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
Thomas paced Langston with 16 points, five rebounds, and five steals in the outing, while Trey Clarke added 13 points and six caroms as the Lions improved to 24-6 on the year. Brett Leach and Jamari Lawrence each scored 15 points to lead the Pioneers, with Leach collecting a team-high six rebounds, as Wayland Baptist fell to 23-7 on the season.
The two teams split their regular-season meetings this past season, as the Stars won the first meeting in a contest that was played at home 61-58, while the Lions won the return game at home 73-65.