TALLADEGA, Ala. - Playing without three more key players from the first semester, a short-handed Freed-Hardeman Lion squad battled back from a second-half deficit but came up short in a 64-60 loss to Talladega (Ala.) College on Friday afternoon in their first game after the Christmas break.

Already having lost senior starters Kyle Teichmann and Jonathan Milewski to injury, FHU was also without leading scorer Orlando Bass as well as Chandler Mack and Damion Wooten, all three of whom will miss the remainder of the season for non-disciplinary reasons.

The Lions (9-7) rallied from a 15-point deficit at the 13:17 mark to pull back within one point after a Mark Brown 3-pointer with 4:20 to play. However, the Tornadoes scored on their next four possessions to keep go back ahead by six points (61-55) with just over a minute left.

FHU still didn't go away, getting two free throws from Michael Young and, after forcing a turnover, a traditional 3-point play by Reginald Gilmore. Another Talladega turnover gave the Lions a chance to take the lead but Daniel Gravatt was called for an offensive foul with 20 seconds left.

The Tornadoes' Ray Lewis made both ends of a double bonus, and smartly put FHU on the foul line with six seconds to play in order to prevent a game-tying 3-point attempt. Mark Brown missed both ends of the double bonus and Jantzen Carter corralled the rebound to seal the win. He made one of two free throws after being fouled following the rebound.

Brown led FHU with 12 points as the only Lion to score in double figures. The Lions shot just 31.9 percent from the field and turned the ball over 26 times.

Freed-Hardeman finishes the two-game Alabama trip against Concordia College Selma on Saturday at 5:00 PM.