Matt Barker, Sports Information Director

LEBANON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lion basketball team suffered their fourth loss of the season Tuesday night at the hands of Cumberland University, as they fell 89-76 to the Phoenix on the road in Lebanon, Tenn.

Despite the loss, the Lions (1-4) received solid contribution from Ehab Eltayeb, who ended the night with a career-high 17 points after going 7-for-9 from the field and 3-for-5 from the stripe. Simon Fransis followed close behind and chipped in 15 points, 14 of which came in the first half, to keep the Lions in the game in the opening stanza.

Andrew Rogan led Cumberland (5-3) on the offensive end with 21 points after shooting an impressive 5-for-11 from behind the arc. Will Shelton followed close behind with 15 points while Blake Johnson rounded out the scoring for the Phoenix with 14 points.

The Lions shot 48 percent from the field and 25 percent from behind the arc compared to Cumberland who shot 47 percent from the field and 42 percent from three-point range in the win.

Errors plagued the Lions the entire night, as they committed a staggering 23 turnovers in the loss compared to Cumberland who turned the ball over just 10 times in the win.

Game Flow

The Lions jumped out to an early 10-2 lead in the opening three minutes of the game, as Simon Fransis fired in the first 10 points for FHU with two three-point field goals and a pair of jump shots to give some early separation.

However, Cumberland would not let the Lions take complete control of the game, as they responded with a 5-0 run of their own to close the gap to three points at the 10-7 mark with 15 minutes remaining in the first frame.

From there, both teams would keep things tight and trade baskets for the next ten minutes until the Phoenix broke away with a 14-0 run to take a commanding 38-24 lead with 4:30 remaining in the opening stanza. FHU; however, would not let things get out of hand, as they out-shot the Phoenix 12-6 to close the half down eight points at the 44-36 mark.

Despite starting the game slow, the Lions more than made up for it in the second half, as they opened the frame with a 5-0 scoring run, following a layup by Kortland Martin and a hoop and harm by Jalen Thompson to close the gap to three points at the 44-41 mark.

The Lions continued their hot shooting over the next three minutes, as they out-shot the Phoenix 6-3 to even things up at 47 apiece capped off by a Jahmeel Watts dunk with 15:45 remaining in regulation.

However, from there Cumberland would take over, as they put together a 13-0 scoring run to pull ahead 69-56 and kept the pressure on for the remainder of the game on their way to a 89-76 victory.

With the loss, the Lions fall to 1-4 on the season. Cumberland University improves to 5-3 on the season with the win.

UP NEXT: The Lions are back in action Saturday, December 2nd, as they resume conference play and pay a visit to Hannibal-LaGrange University. Game time is scheduled for 3:00 PM in Hannibal, Mo. Live video for that game available by clicking here.