HENDERSON, Tenn – In a game that featured 14 lead changes and 12 ties, offensive rebounds were the achilles heel of the Lions Monday night in a tight 79-77 loss to in-state conference foe Bethel University at the Brewer Sports Center.

Kortland Martin and Ryley McClaran led the the Lions (9-5, 4-3 MSC) in the first half, each reaching double digits on the attack. McClaran finished the first half shooting a perfect 3-for-3 clip from behind the arc. It was an exciting back-and-forth first half that featured the largest lead only growing to 6 points for the Lions at the 29-23 mark with 6:02 left in the first half. However, the lead for FHU did not hold up long, as the visiting Wildcats (10-5, 2-5 MSC) finished the half strong and entered the break up 43-40.

The back-and-forth affair continued in the second half, as neither team grew their lead larger than five points. Trailing 79-74 with 36 seconds left, Kortland Martin nailed a deep 3-pointer to close the margin to just two points. The Lions were able to get the needed stop, and a last-second attempt by Martin was blocked as the buzzer sounded on a 79-77 heartbreaking loss.

Despite the loss, the Lions outshot the Wildcats 50 percent to 41 percent from the floor and 42 percent to 35 percent fron behind the arc. Martin led the Lions in scoring with 24 points, 12 of which came from behind the arc. McClaran also reached double digits in the match-up, as he tallied 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field, which included a perfect 4-for-4 shooting performance from behind the arc.

UP NEXT: The Lions are back in action Thursday, January 6th, as they travel to University of the Cumberlands for a 7:00 PM road match-up in Williamsburg, Kentucky.