KINGSPORT, Tenn. — Working off their Thanksgiving feast, the No. 8 Freed-Hardeman University Lions utilized late free throws and heroics from JJ Wheat to claim a 69-60 victory over the (RV) West Virginia University Tech Bears in the first day of "The Show."

FHU (6-2) and WVU Tech opened by trading points before a 3-pointer gave the Bears a 9-8 advantage. That would be the only time FHU trailed as Peyton Law's jumper at 14:37 put the Lions on top for good. The Lions would not allow the Bears to string together points, with WVU Tech only recording back-to-back points three times in the opening half. Meanwhile, the Lions began a 12-0 run at 10:56 begun by Phil Horton's 3-pointer and ending at the 7:48 mark with a layup from Geraldo Lane. The Lions would later bucket eight unanswered points in two minutes to give FHU their largest lead of the half at 38-22.

The second half was all about the free throw for FHU. Of the 31 points scored by the Lions in the second frame, 16 were from the charity stripe. WVU Tech (4-2) began sinking 3-pointers to chip away at FHU's lead What started as a 17-point differential became a seven-point FHU edge as the Bears' Hailey bucketed six points in 60 seconds. A dunk at 3:16 pulled the Bears within two possessions, seeing FHU's lead dwindle to 61-57. Geraldo Lane and Wheat would keep the Bears out of reach by making their free throws until the game was settled at 69-60.

Free throws were the major differential in the stat line, with FHU going 18-25, with WVU Tech shooting 8-18.

JJ Wheat recorded his first collegiate double-double with 21 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Geraldo Lane was 5-6 both from the field and from the free-throw line to record 15 points. Peyton Law tallied 12 points while Hunter Scurlcok swiped away seven steals and gave out six assists.
 

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Up Next

The Lions will be back in action at Kingsport's Meadowview Convention Center for their final game in "The Show" against Bluefield (Va.) University at 11:45 a.m.