PIKEVILLE, Ky. – The offense was rolling in the Lions (8-1, 3-0 MSC) return to conference play when they knocked off Pikeville (5-6, 3-5 MSC) 103-86 on Thursday night.

It was a hot start for the Mid-South Conference newcomers, starting off on a 19-2 run within the first five minutes of the game. The long ball was the answer for the entire contest, especially to start the game, when the Lions knocked down five of their first seven attempts in that span.

Defense was huge in the win as well. While the Lions didn't force a lot of turnovers from the Bears, the pressure caused the hosts to take tough shots, forcing Pikeville to shoot under 40 percent in the opening half.

As the half came to a close, Kortland Martin was able to knock down a mid-range jumper as time expired to give the Lions a 52-32 lead at the break.

The offense continued to roll for the Lions in the final 20 minutes of the game, shooting 72 percent from the field and nearly 63 percent from behind the arc. While Pikeville was able to get things going on offense themselves, they had no answer for the Lions on the other end of the floor.

FHU finished the contest shooting over 62 percent from the field and just over 57 percent from three on 16-of-18 shooting from deep.

The freshman Ryley McClaran had a breakout game in his first-career start, scoring a team-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting and 5-of-7 from behind the arc.

Martin followed closely behind with 19 points in the win. Three other Lions finished in double digits with Silas Clark scoring 12 points off the bench, and Jeremiah Alexander and Jon Moore finishing with 11 and 10, respectively.

The Lions are scheduled to travel to No. 11 University of the Cumberlands on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. central standard time.