Box Score Matt Barker, Sports Information Director
HENDERSON, Tenn. - The No. 14 Freed-Hardeman Lion basketball team will look to continue their hot streak tonight as they travel to Lyon (Ark.) College for a 7:30 PM match-up in Batesville, Ark.
SETTING THE STAGE
FHU (18-5, 12-3 AMC) enters tonight's matchup coming off an impressive 100-88 victory over Park (Mo.) University (14-7, 12-4 AMC) on Saturday to take over sole possession of second place in the American Midwest Conference. The Lions had one of their best shooting nights of the season as they shot 49.2 percent from the field and 48.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Trevor Randolph led the Lions on the offensive end with 19 points on a 4-for-7 shooting night from three point land. Isaiah Harrison followed close behind as he recorded his twelfth double-double of the season and finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Orlando Bass joined Harrison with 18 points in the contest, despite struggling from the field in the first half. Two other Lion players reached double figures in the match-up as Evan Forhetz and Austin Dempsey finished with 13 points. Forhetz, who ranks third in the NAIA in assists per game (7.09), nearly put up a double-double of his own as he recorded nine assists to go along with his 13 points.
In addition to their hot shooting, FHU also played well on the defensive side of the floor, forcing 11 turnovers and recording seven blocked shots, led by Harrison with five blocks. The Lions also had six steals resulting from their defensive pressure in the second half.
The Pirates struck first in the game as they out-shot the Lions in the first three minutes to take an early 10-3 lead. FHU went 0-for-3 from behind the arc to start the game before Trevor Randolph was able to put the Lions on the board to close the gap at the 10-6 mark. The Lions would trail by as many as eight in the first half before going on a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game at the 31-29 mark with 10:31 remaining in the half. From there, FHU would never trail the remainder of the half as they out-shot the Pirates 23-18 to enter the break with a 54-47 lead.
The Pirates would continue to keep things close in the second half as they kept FHU within striking distance. The Lions were able to extend their lead to eight at the 65-57 mark with 16:29 remaining before the Pirates responded with a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 66-65 lead with 13:06 remaining.
Both teams would exchange points over the next seven minutes as the largest lead for either team was just five. The turning point in the game came with four minutes remaining as the Lions were able to go on a 6-0 run over a two-minute stretch to extend their lead to eight at the 91-83 mark with 2:24 remaining.
The Pirates would extend the game in the final two minutes by sending FHU to the line where the Lions converted 7-of-10 from the stripe to reach their largest lead of the game (12) in the 100-88 victory.
SCOUTING THE SCOTS
Lyon College (8-14, 5-11 AMC) enters tonight's matchup coming off a 69-31 victory over St. Louis College of Pharmacy (0-20, 0-17 AMC) on Saturday to pick up their fifth conference win of the season.
The Scots are led by junior guard Joe Burt, who averages 13.73 points per game and has shot 43.3 percent throughout the season. Burt also leads the Scots in rebounding and assists as he averages 7.59 rebounds and 2.86 assists per game.
As a team, the Scots average 61.5 points per game and have shot 44.2 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from behind the arc. Lyon averages 30.7 rebounds per game, led by Burt.
Tonight's game marks the sixth meeting between FHU and Lyon College since the Lions joined the AMC during the 2013-14 season. The Lions lead the series 5-0 since joining the AMC. Overall, FHU has faced Lyon 20 times in school history and leads the series 17-3.
The last time FHU faced the Scots was earlier this season on December 31, 2015 as the Lions came away with a 70-48 victory at the Brewer Sports Center.
AROUND THE AMC
The Lions took over sole possession of second place in the American Midwest Conference following their victory over Park University on Saturday. With the win, FHU moved one game close to first place in the conference standings. FHU will face conference leader Columbia (Mo.) College on February 18 in hopes of closing the gap even further.
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
|
School
|
Conference
|
Overall
|
|
Columbia (Mo.)
|
15-2
|
22-3
|
|
Freed-Hardeman
|
12-3
|
18-5
|
|
Park (Mo.)
|
12-4
|
14-7
|
|
William Woods (Mo.)
|
11-5
|
15-9
|
|
Williams Baptist (Ark.)
|
9-6
|
11-7
|
|
Missouri Baptist
|
9-6
|
14-9
|
|
Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.)
|
8-9
|
11-13
|
|
Harris Stowe State (Mo.)
|
7-10
|
11-13
|
|
Lyon (Ark.)
|
5-11
|
8-14
|
|
Central Baptist (Ark.)
|
4-12
|
8-14
|
|
Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.)
|
4-12
|
5-15
|
|
St. Louis College of Pharmacy
|
0-17
|
0-20
|
COVERAGE
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