HENDERSON — Competing for the first time since the 2023 Mid-South Conference Championship, the No. 7 Freed-Hardeman University Lions and the No. 17 Georgetown (Ky.) College Tigers knew their meeting would come down to the final minutes. That proved true Thursday night as the Lions and Tigers swapped leads 12 times and drawing even an additional seven before the Lions ended up on the wrong end of a 70-66 battle.
The first half featured the Lions (16-3, 4-1 MSC) and the Tigers trading blows, with
Devin Tomlinson and
Ryley McClaran each tallying 3-pointers, but the Tigers would answer each score before a jumper at 12:07 gave GC at seven-point edge. The Lions would then drive into the paint to score three consecutive layups from
Quan Lax,
Chase Fiddler, and
JJ Wheat to leapfrog to a 22-21 lead. That lead was short-lived as Georgetown would go on a 9-0 run to extend to an eight point edge. That was no trouble for same trio of Lions with Fiddler and Wheat's 3-pointers sandwiching a Lax layup to finish the first half deadlocked at 30-30.
Throughout the entirety of the second half, neither the Tigers (15-4, 2-2 MSC) nor the Lions would find themselves trailing by more than two possessions.
Peyton Law sank a triple at 11:01 that began a 12-3 run that ended with Tomlinson's jumper giving FHU their largest lead in the half at 55-49. Georgetown was swift to answer, going on a 12-2 run of their own to take a four-point lead into the final five minutes. Wheat connected for a 3-pointer at 2:11 to tie the game 63-63, but Georgetown would score six unanswered points to end the Lions' 11-game win streak with a 70-66 final.
The Tigers coughed the ball up 18 times to the Lions' 11, but actually out-scored FHU 18-14 in the points off turnover category. The Lions were out-rebounded 37-28 but their depth showed with the Lion bench out-scoring the Tigers' bench 34-12.
FHU's tandem point guards had an even night, with both
Quan Lax and
JJ Wheat tallying 15 points. Lax was the floor general for FHU, giving out seven assists.
Peyton Law grabbed a team-high six rebounds, while
Devin Tomlinson led the team with three steals.
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Up Next
A top-25 matchup against Georgetown could only be topped by a top-10 battle on Saturday, January 27, as the Lions will host the No. 6 Patriots of the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) at 3:00 p.m.
