Freed-Hardeman stages ferocious comeback to win 1st NAIA championship over Langston

As the confetti rained down on the Municipal Auditorium court on Tuesday night, Freed-Hardeman University’s Devin Tomlinson and Quan Lax rolled around in a euphoric embrace.

Other teammates mobbed and hugged each other, and the fans who made the trip from Henderson, Tennessee, screamed almost in disbelief.

But 0.2 seconds remained in the NAIA championship game, so the floor cleared. Forward Peyton Law sank one of two meaningless free throws that capped Freed-Hardeman’s improbable, come-from-behind 71-67 victory over Langston (Okla.) University for the 86th NAIA Men’s Basketball Tournament title.

And then, the bedlam began, led by Tomlinson, a junior forward from Blue Springs South.

“I never thought I’d be here in a situation like this,” said Tomlinson, whose family was in the stands. “My whole life, I just wanted to be a part of a team that loves each other and wants to battle every single day, and that’s exactly what I found at Freed-Hardeman. This is the culture that I’ve been looking for.

“When I committed here and I heard we had a real chance to come back home, where I am from my whole life, and win a national championship, I couldn’t believe it. And we will be back next year, I promise you that. We will be back to two-peat again.”

Freed-Hardeman (32-4) trailed by as many as 12 in the second half and was down 67-63 with less than 1 minute to play.

But Langston (35-2), lost its poise, as well as possession of the ball against FHU’s ferocious full-court pressure, which produced an 8-0 run to finish the game.

FHU’s Geraldo Lane intercepted a pass in the backcourt and converted it into a three point-play with 42.4 seconds to play, drawing his team within one, 67-66. Then, Law intercepted another errant Langston pass and found JJ Wheat, who was fouled driving to the basket with 35.1 seconds left.

Wheat calmly sank two free throws for a 68-67 lead and tacked on a final basket in transition after Langston failed to score.

“We were tough … that’s the word to use right there,’’ said Freed-Hardeman coach Drew Stutts, whose team won its first national title in school history. “We were resilient. I thought our guys just kept battling, A team effort, we just outlasted them. The tougher team wins.”

Stutts, in his fifth year at Freed-Hardeman, joined the fray, too, when he picked up a technical foul after Wheat was called for his fourth personal with the score tied at 50 with 7 minutes, 45 seconds to play.

“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do sometimes,” Stutts said. “That was my first technical in three years. Walking away, I hit the table. I shouldn’t have done it, but right now, it doesn’t matter. We’re national champs.”

Langston’s Anthony Roy, who made both technical free throws, appeared to take over in the final moments with a 3-pointer, two free throws and a baseline shot for what looked like an insurmountable 66-60 lead.

But then came the back-to-back interceptions by FHU’s Lane and Law, which proved to be the decisive plays.

“We came here as the fourth No. 1 seed,” Law said of a Round of 16 that included four No. 1 seeds. “In the final four, everybody had Grace (Ind.) to win. We came out on top. Everybody had Langston to win this, we came out on top. That’s how we do it.”

The Langston players, who won 16 straight games and had not lost since Feb. 1, appeared in a state of shock afterward, as did its large delegation of fans and booming band.

“We turned the ball over and played soft down the stretch,” said Langston coach Chris Wright, who also lost in the championship game with Talladega (Ala.) University in 2022. “The toughest team won the game.”

And the championship.

This story was originally published March 26, 2024 at 11:11 PM.