HENDERSON — On a Saturday full of basketball, the No. 7 Freed-Hardeman University Lions bested the Johnson (Tenn.) University Royals 82-64.
Peyton Law scored the first four points for the Lions (6-1) before Johnson took a lead with a set of layups and a 3-pointer. The Lions posted back-to-back jumpers to reclaim the lead. With both teams utilizing a furious press, FHU was able to out-pace the Royals 12-2 across a three-minute span with
Makai Vassell and
Jordan Stephens bucketing points on the fast break. Johnson would add eight unanswered points late in the half to narrow FHU's lead to single digits, but a 3-pointer from
Ryley McClaran helped a seven-point run by the Lions to take a 38-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
After Law had a jumper in the paint and
Jayson Nixon tallying a triple, Johnson (4-1) began to hit shots from long range, too, improving from a 1-10 mark in the first half to total 5-11 in the second. Afer a pair of free throws from Nixon gave the Lions their largest lead of 21, the Royals continued to chip away at FHU's lead until a 3-pointer at 6:17 made the FHU lead seven at 64-57. Entering the bonus at 6:28, the Lions went 11-17 from the charity stripe in the second half with McClaran's 3-pointer with 43 seconds remaining in the game giving FHU the 82-64 win.
The Lions shot 55% from the floor while holding the Royals to a 39% afternoon. FHU forced 20 Johnson turnovers, converting those to 26 points off of turnovers.
Despite sitting playing 10 minutes in the second half with foul trouble,
Peyton Law led the Lions with 20 points.
Makai Vassell followed by going 8-12 from the floor to score 18 while
Ryley McClaran's three 3-pointers helped him to 11 points.
Phil Horton led FHU at the glass, grabbing seven rebounds with
Geraldo Lane leading with four steals.
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Up Next
The Lions will depart for a trip to Nashville for a rematch with the Fisk (Tenn.) University Bulldogs on November 19. In their last meeting on November 2, FHU beat the Bulldogs 90-63.
