LANGSTON, Okla. – Wednesday night's NAIA Men's Basketball Championship Second Round battle between No. 22 Southwestern College and the No. 5-ranked Lions of Langston University showed just how perfectly the Builders would have to play to upset the homestanding Lions. From the home-court advantage, to the three-point shooting prowess of Langston, the Moundbuilders seemed outmatched for the majority of the tilt. They continued to put forth their best effort until the final buzzer, but the near-perfect performance by the Lions ended the 2022-23 season for SC in an 87-65 fashion.

Turnovers haunted SC in the early going, as the Builders turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions to open the tilt. Langston was opportunistic, stretching their lead to 24-6 at the 11:03 mark in the first half. The Moundbuilders were continuing to hand the ball back to the Lions, giving the home team ample extra opportunities to extend the lead. Luckily, the disadvantage for SC would not get much worse, as they would enter the locker room with a 15-point deficit at 45-30. The number that stood out was the 10-3 turnover margin, as the Builders were gifting the Lions several chances, which led to the large deficit at the break. Each team shot the ball well, as the Moundbuilders went 12-of-25 from the field, while Langston sunk 15-of-32. Southwestern's 4-of-9 free-throw shooting performance left a lot to be desired, as the home team made 11-of-12, in contrast.

A bit of life from the Moundbuilder squad was evident over the first several minutes of the second half, as SC whittled the lead down to just seven points at 52-45 with 14:24 left to go in the game. Then, Southwestern's first turnover of the half on a 5-on-4 fast break seemed to turn the tide, as Langston supplied a 15-5 run over the next five minutes and change to jump back up by 17. The lead never became less than 14 points for the Lions from that point forward, as the Moundbuilders' season ended in the second round of the national tournament, 87-65. In the end, the 17-4 turnover margin, as well as the shocking free-throw shooting discrepancy, doomed the Builders from the very start. Langston was outstanding as an offense, shooting the ball at a high clip of 12-of-19 from distance, while SC only provided a 5-of-15 night from long range.

Deng Bol was the top scorer for his team in his final game as a Moundbuilder, as he was the most effective player with the basketball in his hands all night on the SC side. He tallied 19 points on a 7-of-12 shooting night, which included one make from long range and four free throws. Cevin Clark's night may not have been his best, but he still provided 16 points for the Builders, while hitting on 5-of-16 from the field. He made just one three and went 5-of-8 from the charity stripe. Andrew O'Brien went 4-of-6 with nine points and Trey White added six points on a 2-of-2 night from three-point land.

O'Brien had five assists, but the team had just eight overall, as two went to Bol and the remaining dime was handed out by Cooper Pierce in his final collegiate game.

Bol stood out in more ways than one, grabbing seven backboards to lead the team. He was followed by the pairing of O'Brien and Pierce with five, Zach Hidalgo with four, and Clark with three. Phillip Smith also added two rebounds off the bench.

Continuing to make a difference, Bol, along with both Clark and Hidalgo, were credited with steals in the loss. Pierce and Smith were both given a block in the box score, as well.

With the defeat, the Builders (26-7) see their record-breaking season end in the second round of the NAIA national tournament for the third time in the last six years. The squad was nearly able to get over the hump this year, but a talented Langston squad will move on to Kansas City for the Round of 16. For seniors, Bol and Pierce, tonight was the final game they played in a Moundbuilder uniform. They showed exactly what it is like to be a Builder over the course of their careers at Southwestern. Much more is to come for SC men's basketball in 2023-24, as we look ahead to next season.

--buildersports.com--