Matt Barker, Sports Information Director

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lion basketball team used a hot shooting second half Tuesday evening to take down NCAA Division 2 Lee University by a final score of 67-66 on the road in Cleveland, Tenn.

Senior Marcus Baldwin led the Lions on the attack, as he combined for 24 points after shooting 6-for-12 from the field and 5-for-7 from behind the arc. Baldwin also contributed to FHU's 95 percent shooting performance from the free throw line, as he went 7-for-8 from the stripe while pulling down seven rebounds.

Simon Fransis and Jalen Thompson followed close behind, as Fransis put up nine points and pulled down eight rebounds while Thompson chipped in eight points. Both players put in quality minutes, especially at the free throw line, as each went 4-for-4 from the stripe.

The Lions (2-5) shot 44 percent from the field and 44 percent from behind the arc in the game compared to Lee University (6-2), who shot 40 percent from the field and 29 percent from behind the arc. Despite shooting 40 percent from three-point range in the first half, the Flames fizzled in the second half, shooting just 18 percent from behind the arc.

Despite the loss, the Flames had plenty of success on the offensive end, led by Michael McGuirk who fired in 21 points after going 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Chase Cullen followed close behind with 12 points while Parker Suedekum dished out six assists in the loss.

The Flames started the game hot, as they rattled off seven unanswered points in the first three minutes of regulation to take a 7-0 lead before Jahmeel Watts broke the scoring drought following a jumper with 17 minutes remaining in the frame.

From there, the Flames continued their solid first half shooting, as they reached their largest lead of the half at the 20-10 mark with 12 minutes remaining. However, the Lions were able to keep things from getting out of hand, as they pulled within seven points to enter the break down 39-32.

Despite struggling to keep pace with the Flames in the first half, the Lions made up for it in the second half, as John Musselwhite opened the frame with a three-point field goal to close the gap to four points at the 39-35 mark. From there, the Lions continued to chip away at the lead, as they out-shot the Flames 14-10 over the next nine minutes to even things up at 49 apiece with 9:31 remaining.

The Lions continued their hot shooting over the next five minutes and reached their largest lead of the game at the 63-54 mark with 4:40 remaining following two free throws by Marcus Baldwin. The Flames; however, would not make things easy on the Lions, as they put together a late run and out-shot the Lions 12-3 to pull within one point at the 67-66 mark. However, the Lions were able to hold off the late charge to secure the 67-66 victory.

Tuesday's match-up marked FHU's sixth straight road game of the season, a factor that can be difficult for any team. However, despite the tough road schedule to start the season, Lion Head Coach Jim Sanderson stated confidence in his team's resilience.

"I was really happy for our guys tonight," said Sanderson. "These road trips can be very tiresome, so it was good for us to get one tonight over a solid Lee University team."

With the win, the Lions move to 2-5 on the season. Lee University suffers just their second loss of the season and fall to 6-2.

UP NEXT: The Lions return home Thursday, December 7th and play host to Campbellsville University. Game time is scheduled for 6:00 PM at the Brewer Sports Center. Thursday's match-up marks the Lions first home game since Homecoming on November 11th.