Inside Freed-Hardeman men’s basketball first NAIA national championship
Quan Lax looked through the lights to see his four-month son Ja’kari and cried.
Near Lax, over on the sideline, coach Drew Stutts was jumping and hugging assistant Grant Burns.
“We just won the natty,” Stutts said to Burns.
Freed-Hardeman men's basketball had just won the NAIA national championship Tuesday, the first in program history. FHU (32-4) took down Langston (Oklahoma), 71-67, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
FHU had to rally from as many as 13 points down in the second half to beat Langston (34-2). Lax tied the game with 6 minutes to play. After the two teams traded the lead three times, former Clarksville High star JJ Wheat found himself at the free-throw line with 35 seconds left.
Wheat, a sophomore point guard, made both attempts to give FHU the lead. He added a layup to complete a fast break with 12 seconds left to put FHU up by three.
“It was shocking, we were down six with like 45 seconds to go,” Wheat said after the team arrived home Wednesday. “It was unbelievable … we all had faith; crowd was on their feet. We was like yeah, we got them now.”
FHU’s celebration was a bit delayed, by 0.2 seconds of game time to be precise. There was a foul call, but the confetti cannons had already been shot and the Lions were celebrating on the floor. The floor crew had to clean the confetti and have Peyton Law split a pair of free throws before the game was officially over.
At that point, FHU was in full celebration mode. Every single player on the roster, from top to bottom, had a role in the championship with their work on the scout team.
“I just started thinking about all the work you put in to get to that moment,” Lax said. “All I could do is cry. We’ve been through a lot during the season. … Me and the guys enjoyed every second of it.”
Lax was able to celebrate with his son. Stutts was able to have his whole family out to celebrate, too. Stutts’ 8-year-old son, Deacon, is a walking FHU encyclopedia, he knows all of Lions’ stats and opposing scouting reports.
“It’s just exciting to share a lot of those moments with him because he’s got this passion for basketball and this team,” said Stutts.
By the time FHU had celebrated the victory, gone through the All-Tournament teams, received the trophy and cut the nets down, about 40 minutes had elapsed before the players returned to the locker room.
“I was fully expecting a bath,” said Stutts, who had been soaked in celebration after the semifinal win over Grace (Indiana). “Everyone was so emotionally drained at that point in the locker room.”
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Former Goodpasture star Hunter Scurlock knew his college basketball career was coming to an end Tuesday. The senior forward started his FHU journey at the same time Stutts took over the program. FHU had won seven games the season before Stutts was hired.
“The realization set in, just being like wow, we did what we wanted to accomplish,” Scurlock said. “We set this goal at the beginning of my career and wanted to do certain things. … We did it. It’s been awesome. I wouldn’t want to do it with any other coaches or any other teammates. I have a special place in my heart for those guys and these coaches.”
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Inside Freed-Hardeman men’s basketball first NAIA national championship
