Courtesy of Langston University Athletics
LANGSTON — Anthony Roy scored 23 points to lead No. 1 seed Langston University past ninth-seeded Ave Maria (Fla.) 91-61 on Saturday night at the C.F. Gayles Field House. The top-seeded Lions advance to the NAIA Round of 16 for the second straight year and will play No. 12 seed LSU-Shreveport on Friday, March 22 at 1 p.m.
“Ave Maria is a very good team and they were a tough matchup for us,” Langston University head coach Chris Wright noted. “We got down nine in the first half and our guys didn’t panic. We stayed the course and found a way to continue to get stops in the second half.”
Tied at 48-48 in the second half, Langston went on a 19-5 scoring run to seize control at 67-53 at the 8:10 mark. Ave Maria trimmed Langston’s lead to 13 points with 6:42 left when the Lions defense turned up the heat by not allowing another point from the Gyrenes until the 1:44 mark with Langston ahead 84-57.
Roy finished with 23 on nine-of-16 shooting and D’Monte Brown added 12 points and 11 boards. Cortez Mosley and Toru Dean rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 and 10 points apiece.
Collectively, Langston hit 50 percent (35-of-70) from the field and held Ave Maria to 40 percent (20-of-50) shooting on the night. The Lions outscored the Gyrenes 19-0 on points off turnovers, 16-4 in second chance points, 32-17 in bench points and 48-24 in points in the paint.
“It’s always special to make it to Kansas City,” Wright said. “I’m excited for our guys and look forward to continue to play for a national championship.”
Langston (32-1) advances to the NAIA Round of 16 and faces No. 12 seed LSU-Shreveport on Friday, March 22. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.