HENDERSON — In their first game of the 2024-25 season, the No. 4 Freed-Hardeman University Lions dominated all sides of the ball in an 83-53 victory over the Ambassadors of Oakwood (Ala.) University.

It was the Peyton Law and Geraldo Lane show for the Lions (1-0), with the pair accounting for all 13 of the Lions first points until a jumper from Phil Horton at 15:13 gave FHU a 15-6 edge. After the Ambassadors tallied to score seven unanswered points, Jordan Stephens debuted in maroon and white with back-to-back 3-pointers. Down the stretch of the first half, Blake Dean capped a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer. Jayson Nixon drilled a triple as the last score for FHU, maintaining a 39-23 lead at intermission.

The bread-and-butter for the Lions is their depth down the stretch.

"I like to play a lot of guys, because we have a lot of good players," explained Coach Drew Stutts. "Many of these guys have been with our program for multiple years and earned worked their way up the depth chart. We will consistently play 10 guys through the year and have strength in numbers! This will be one of the deepest teams I've had at FHU once we get everyone healthy."

That depth was shown off in the second half with FHU going on three separate runs of eight or more points over the Ambassadors (0-1). Peyton Law's jumper at 8:50 opened an 11-point run that ended with the Lions leading 68-40. Sam Powell and Dalton Colbert hit late 3-pointers to help push FHU to the final buzzer with a 83-53 victory.

"I thought overall we played well together," said Stutts. "A lot of new guys, some young guys, too, but I thought as the game went on we got more and more comfortable. It's going to be fun seeing these guys build some chemistry on the court together early in the season."

FHU out-rebounded Oakwood 40-26 including 13 offensive boards to lead to 18 second-chance buckets. The Lions had great ball movement, dishing out 17 assists to the Ambassadors' nine.

Peyton Law led the charge for the Lions, going 9-14 from the floor to collect 22 points. Jordan Stephens was 3-8 from long range to debut in Henderson with 16 points, while Geraldo Lane collected 15 points. Sam Powell wrapped up the double-digit scoring with 10 points. Lane grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, with nine different Lions grabbing multiple rebounds.  

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The Lions will make a trip to the Magnolia State where they will battle the Bulldogs of Tougaloo (Miss.) College on October 26 with a 3:00 p.m. tip. Read Full Article