HENDERSON — The No. 11 Freed-Hardeman University Lions began their quest to repeat as Mid-South Conference champions Thursday night, picking up a big victory over the Cumberland (Tenn.) University Phoenix 99-69.
After the Phoenix started the game with back-to-back 3-pointers, the Lions (13-2, 1-0 MSC) utilized hot streaks to put distance between themselves the opposition. On two occasions in the first half, the Lion would go on 10-0 runs with the first spanning 17:37 to 14:45 with all 10 points coming of off layups. Cumberland would answer with a 6-0 run of their own to knot the game 12-12 at the 11:26 mark of the first half.
Ryley McClaran would convert the rare four-point play before
Chase Fiddler and
Quan Lax sank 3-pointers to give FHU an eight-point edge. From 7:28 until 5:36, the Lions began a second 10-0 run, beginning with a
Geraldo Lane layup and ending with the same from
Phil Horton.
Devin Tomlinson's 3-pointer at 4:57 gave the Lions their biggest lead, 37-20, before late layups put the Lions in a comfortable halftime position leading 48-37.
In the second half, Cumberland (4-8, 0-1 MSC) would stick close to the Lions, with a set of layups narrowing the deficit to single digits. That gap; however, grew exponentially when a layup from Lax at 9:48 began a 20 point unanswered streak that concluded with Lane's dunk at 4:33. The Lion speed was key in the run, with nine of those 20 points coming from fast breaks. Lane and
JJ Wheat would close out the game by trading layups before
Sam Powell wrapped the game with a layup to settle the score 99-69.
FHU shot 63% from the floor, the 10th time this season FHU shot above 50%, and the second time FHU eclipsed the 60% mark. FHU led the rebounding battle with 39 boards to Cumberland's 26. FHU showed outstanding ball movement, connecting for 23 assists while the Phoenix tallied nine assists.
Quan Lax led the Lions offense with 17 points while
JJ Wheat was not far behind with 16.
Geraldo Lane was 7-8 from the field to score 14 points while
Hunter Scurlock was a perfect 5-5 to tally 12.
Devin Tomlinson rounded off the double figures with a 10-point effort. Scurlock led FHU at the glass with seven rebounds, while Lax dished out a game-high six assists.
Chase Fiddler was a defensive spark with three blocks and three steals.
Up Next
The Lions will continue Mid-South Conference play by hosting the Wildcats of Bethel (Tenn.) University on Saturday, January 13, tipping off at 3:00 p.m.
