Matt Barker, Sports Information Director

HENDERSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lion basketball team found some late heroics Tuesday night, but in the end it was not enough, as they suffered a 68-67 loss to in-state foe Fisk University at the Brewer Sports Center.

Despite the loss, the Lions (6-12) received solid contribution from Ehab Eltayeb, who recorded a double-double in the match-up after firing in 16 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Freshman John Musselwhite also chipped in 16 points after shooting an impressive 4-for-7 from behind the arc while Shamir Rolle rounded out the FHU attack with eight points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night from the field.

Ryainni Scott paced the Bulldogs (8-3) on the offensive end, as he fired in 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds, courtesy of a 9-for 12 shooting performance from the field. Montreal Nabors followed close behind with 19 points while El Paso Pitts rounded out the scoring for the Bulldogs with 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Lions shot 40 percent from the field and 33 percent from behind the arc in the game compared to Fisk University, who shot 38 percent from the field and 18 percent from behind the arc.

The Lions trailed by as many as 14 in the first half at the 25-11 mark with 10:51 remaining in the frame before responding with a 19-9 run of their own over the next eight minutes to close the gap to four points in the final minutes. However, four points would be as close as FHU would get in the half, as the Bulldogs closed the frame on an 8-2 run to enter the break up 42-32.

The second half was much of the same, as Fisk University started the frame hot and extended their lead back to 14 points at the 52-38 mark before the Lions put together a run of their own. FHU continued to chip away at the lead to close the game, as they out-shot the Bulldogs 29-16 for the remainder of the game to pull within one point in the final seconds. However, despite getting one last possession to convert the game winning shot, the Lions came up just short and suffered the 68-67 loss.

With the loss, the Lions fall to 6-12 on the season. Fisk University improves to 8-3 on the season with the win.

UP NEXT: The Lions are back in action Saturday, January 13th, as they host conference foe Park University. The Lady Lions get things started first at 1:00 PM followed by the men's game at 3:00 PM at the Brewer Sports Center.