PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Finishing their time in the Battle of the Beach, the No. 8 Freed-Hardeman University Lions will leave with a sour taste in their mouths, falling to the (RV) Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) University Lions 74-71.
After beginning the game down eight points, the FHU Lions (5-2) had a
Quan Lax layup spark a 14-point unanswered streak to turn the deficit into a 17-10 lead. A SAGU set of free throws and a layup brough the FHU lead to a lone point. A pair of 3-pointers gave SAGU their first lead at 9:06; however, the FHU shooters would take the opposite route, bucketing six straight points in the paint from Lax,
Hunter Scurlock, and
Devin Tomlinson. FHU's lead grew to as large as five, but free throws and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer narrowed the maroon and white's lead to 34-33 at the half.
FHU and SAGU (4-2) would swap leads until SAGU scored six unanswered points to take a 49-43 lead at 10:38. In the meantime, the Lions were in the midst of a shooting freeze, going 0-8 in a 6:45 slump. The SAGU Lions would extend their lead to a game-high nine points with 1:53 to go.
Phil Horton sank a 3-pointer before Lax's steal and score featured an and-one opportunity, which - after Lax converted it - put the Lions down by two points with 24 seconds to go. SAGU sank their free throws late, sealing FHU's fate in a 74-71 final.
Freed-Hardeman led nearly every statistical category except long range shooting. FHU was 3-18 while SAGU made 8-21.
Hunter Scurlock led the FHU offense with 18 points, going 6-8 from the floor while also grabbing seven rebounds.
Geraldo Lane and
Quan Lax followed with 14 points each. Lax ended with a team-high three steals.
Up Next
The Lions will take a brief break to enjoy Thanksgiving before getting back to business in "The Show" hosting at the Meadowview Resort in Kingsport, Tennessee. FHU will first see (RV) West Virginia Tech on Saturday, November 25 at 23 p.m. before facing Bluefield (Va.) University on Sunday, November 26 at 12:45 p.m.
