The 86th annual NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship concluded on Tuesday night with a hotly anticipated game between a pair of No. 1-seeds in Langston (Okla.) and Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.). Freed-Hardeman picked up the massive win 71-67 over Langston to take home the program’s first-ever Red Banner.

Championship night was rocking from the start inside historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. Through the first seven minutes of play, both FHU and LU traded buckets from the tip as the fan bases of both institutions were loud and proud.

Just five-minutes into the game, Freed-Hardeman had a big block on a three attempt by Toru Dean, but the Miami native snagged the blocked ball out of the air and sank a second three-attempt with tenths of a second left on the shot clock.

As the contest entered the second media stoppage of the first half, Langston was 3-for-3 from the floor and pushed its lead to 20-16. The FHU Lions, however, did not go away and clawed their way back to trail by just two points in the following 12 minutes.

As both teams began to settle into the championship match-up, the pace of play began to settle down as well. With just over four minutes remaining in the opening frame, both teams were nearly equal across the board. LU held the narrow lead in field goal percentage, 46.4% to 45.8%, and three-point shooting percentage, 40% to 33.3%. It was the Langston defense down the stretch of the first half, however, that stole the show. The stingy Langston squad held Freed-Hardeman to long possessions and forced shots.

Langston closed the first 20 minutes on an 8-0 run and held a nine-point, 40-31 lead into the break.

Though both teams shot similarly from the floor in the first half, the Langston marksmen were lethal from three-point land, going 7-for-17 from beyond the arc.

Langston started the final period right where they left off. The team from Oklahoma quickly spread the floor and went end to end on a dunk and continued to pressure the squad from Tennessee.

Through 25 minutes of championship basketball, FHU and LU were tied three different times, and the game saw eight lead changes. Freed-Hardeman slowly began to close the margin, going on a 6-0 run while holding LU scoreless for over three and a half minutes, cutting the deficit to seven.

Langston’s scoring drought ended as Cortez Mosley (6'5''-G/F) hit a tough jumper on the inbound pass, pushing its lead back to nine. FHU had a contested look from deep with just under 12 minutes to play, which would have cut its margin to two points, but were unable to connect as it continued to trail 48-43.

Freed-Hardeman stayed persistent on both ends of the floor, putting together a 14-5 run that lasted nearly ten minutes of play, to trail by three. FHU quickly turned their deficit of three points, into a tied game at 50-all with just under eight minutes to play as J.J. Wheat (6'0''-PG) hit the shot putting the FHU fans on their feet as the game headed into the under-ten media break.

Freed-Hardeman continued to battle on the defensive end of the floor with the game tied at 59, despite not having a made field goal in the last 3:39 of play as the game clock clicked under five. Entering the final 3:53 of play, LU was shooting 42.9% from the floor, 36.8% beyond the arc, and was 10-of-16 at the foul line. FHU was shooting 47.6% from the field, 21.4% from deep, and converted on 16-of-22 free throws.

Langston’s defense continued to pay dividends down the stretch, earning big stops, allowing them to collect much-needed baskets on the offensive end to break the tie, and lead by four with 2:15 left to play. LU continued to be strong on both ends of the court as it strung together a 7-0 run in that same time frame to lead by six, 66-60.

As the contest dipped under a minute to play, FHU quickly closed the margin back to a one-point game, 67-66. On the Langston in-bounds pass, Peyton Law intercepted it giving FHU a chance to take the lead. After a foul in the lane, which sent J.J. Wheat to the line for a chance to tie the game or take the lead; he converted on both shots to put his team up by one with little time left.

Wheat grabbed the game-winning block for FHU with five seconds left on the clock then proceeded to make the layup on the other end giving FHU their first NAIA National Championship win in program history by a score of 71-67.

Overall, in the 2024 NAIA Men’s Basketball championship game, Freed-Hardeman shot 47% from the floor, 20% from deep, and 73% at the charity stripe. Langston posted shooting percentages of 42% from the floor, 36% from beyond the arc, and 62% at the free-throw line. LU outrebounded FHU 39-27 while notching 12, second-chance points, 17 points off the bench, and 26 points in the paint. FHU scored nine, second-chance points, 26 points off the bench, and 38 points in the paint. In the 40 minutes of play, the teams saw a total of 13 lead changes and eight ties.

Following the game, the All-Tournament Team was announced:

All-Tournament Team
Javan Buchanan (6'7''-F) – Indiana Wesleyan
Samaje Morgan (5'9''-PG) – College of Idaho
Jake O'Neil (6'4''-G) - College of Idaho
Jakob Gibbs (6'5''-G) – Grace (Ind.)
Elijah Malone (6'10''-C) – Grace (Ind.)
Anthony Roy (6'5''-G-2001) – Langston (Okla.)
Cortez Mosley – Langston (Okla.)
J.J. Wheat – Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
Hunter Scurlock (6'7''-F) – Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
JaQuan Lax (6'1''-PG) – Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)

Charles Stevenson Hustle Award: J.J. Wheat – Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)

Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player: Hunter Scurlock – Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)

Charles A. Krigel Sportsmanship Award: Grace (Ind.)

courtesy of NAIA

All-Tournament Most Valuable Player: Hunter Scurlock (6'7''-F) of FHU
All-Tournament Hustle Award: J.J. Wheat (6'0''-PG) of FHU

NAIA All-Tournament 1st Team 2024

Buchanan

Morgan

O'Neil

Gibbs

Malone

Roy

All-Tournament Team
Javan Buchanan (6'7''-F) of IWU
Samaje Morgan (5'9''-PG) of Idaho Coll.
Jake O'Neil (6'4''-G) of Idaho Coll.
Jakob Gibbs (6'5''-G) of Grace
Elijah Malone (6'10''-C) of Grace
Anthony Roy (6'5''-G-2001) of Langston
Cortez Mosley (6'5''-G/F) of Langston
J.J. Wheat (6'0''-PG) of FHU
Hunter Scurlock (6'7''-F) of FHU
JaQuan Lax (6'1''-PG) of FHU

NABC NAIA All-America Team -2024

Brown

Brown

Buchanan

Clark

Cook

Lax

All-America Team
Anthony Brown (6'5''-G) of MNU
Jonathan Brown (6'3''-G-2000) of Cumberlands
Javan Buchanan (6'7''-F) of IWU
Cevin Clark (5'11''-PG) of Southwestern, KS
Andrew Cook (6'4''-G) of Carroll, MT
JaQuan Lax (6'1''-PG) of FHU
Elijah Malone (6'10''-C) of Grace
Vincent Miszkiewicz (6'7''-F-2000) of Keiser
Samaje Morgan (5'9''-PG) of Idaho Coll.
Kashie Natt (6'3''-G) of LSUA
Anthony Roy (6'5''-G-2001) of Langston
Reggie Thomas (6'1''-G) of Hastings

Player of the Year: Elijah Malone (6'10''-C) of Grace
Coach of the Year: Drew Stutts of FHU

NAIA All-America 1st Team 2024

Cook

Morgan

Brown

Lax

Malone

First Team
Andrew Cook (6'4''-G) of Carroll, MT
Samaje Morgan (5'9''-PG) of Idaho Coll.
Jonathan Brown (6'3''-G-2000) of Cumberlands
JaQuan Lax (6'1''-PG) of FHU
Elijah Malone (6'10''-C) of Grace
Reggie Thomas (6'1''-G) of Hastings
Javan Buchanan (6'7''-F) of IWU
Vincent Miszkiewicz (6'7''-F-2000) of Keiser
Anthony Roy (6'5''-G-2001) of Langston
Kashie Natt (6'3''-G) of LSUA
Anthony Brown (6'5''-G) of MNU
Cevin Clark (5'11''-PG) of Southwestern, KS

NAIA All-America Second Team 2024

Judge

Goodline

McKenna

Van Kalsbeek

Lietzke

Talton

Second Team
Tyshon Judge (6'3''-G) of Florida Coll.
Zach Goodline (6'1''-G-2000) of Huntington
Ezra McKenna (6'9''-F) of Mobile, AL
Alex Van Kalsbeek (6'7''-F) of Northwestern, IA
Jaden Lietzke (6'8''-F) of OKWU
DJ Talton (6'2''-G) of OKWU
Tyler Schmidt (6'4''-G) of ONU
CJ Hall (6'2''-G) of SAGU
Cobie Barnes (6'7''-F) of St.Mary of the Woods
Milton Matthews III (6'3''-G) of St.Thomas, FL
Kaleb Lowery (6'8''-F) of Master's
Ty Harper (6'3''-G-2001) of Master's

NAIA All-America Third Team 2024

Hayes

Hudgens Jr.

Lutz

Corprew

Wyman

Parker

Third Team
Michael Hayes (6'4''-G) of Antelope Valley
Trent Hudgens Jr. (6'1''-G) of ACU
Drew Lutz (6'1''-G-2000) of Bethel, IN
Deshawn Corprew (6'5''-G) of CBC
Drew Wyman (6'5''-G) of Idaho Coll.
Collin Parker (6'8''-F) of Columbia, MO
Noah Schutte (6'4''-F) of CUNE
Kyran Jones (6'5''-F) of Georgetown, KY
Dejon Barney (6'9''-F) of IU S.Bend
Jun Murdock (5'11''-PG) of Ks Wesleyan
Toru Dean (6'0''-PG) of Langston
Brandon Beavers (6'2''-G) of Lawrence Tech
Darren Jones (6'8''-F) of Mayville St.
Landon Seaman (6'8''-F) of Menlo
Follie Bogan (6'4''-G) of Milligan
Asa Williams (6'6''-F) of Montana Tech
Jamison Guerra (6'0''-PG) of Oregon Tech
Jamal Gibson (6'8''-F) of SUNO
Najee Jones (6'3''-G) of Texas Coll.