BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — For the second year in a row the No. 5 Freed-Hardeman University Lions and the No. 16 Georgetown (Ky.) College Tigers battled for the Mid-South Conference championship. For the second year in a row the Lions ended victorious with FHU claiming the title with a 71-59 victory.
A low-scoring first half got underway with
Peyton Law bucketing a second-chance bucket before giving Freed-Hardeman (26-4, 10-2 MSC) a four-point lead with a pair of free throws. The Tigers answered with a set of 3-pointers to take an 8-6 lead before
Devin Tomlinson and
Sam Powell connected for 3-pointers. GC's Tae Dozier scored six unanswered points to flip the scoreboard, but
Chase Fiddler's back-to-back triples gave the Lions the spark to begin a 10-0 run. FHU's potent defense was on display at the end of the half, forcing the Tigers to go 0-12 from the floor over the final five minutes of the first half until a layup ended the frame with the Lions on top 31-21.
Georgetown (23-7, 8-4 MSC) was able to draw within eight points before
Quan Lax bucketed 13 points in the span of 4:14 to push the Lions to a 48-35 lead.
Sam Powell's 3-pointer at 5:35 was the last field goal made by FHU in the game; however, the Lions went 10-10 from the charity stripe to finish the game to cut down the nets in the 71-59 victory.
Though Georgetown dominated the offensive boards with 17 offensive rebounds to FHU's six, the Lions were able to regroup and score 13 second-chance points while the Tigers were held to eight. After going 1-12 in the semifinals, the Lions connected for nine 3-pointers in the final.
Quan Lax was named as the tournament's MVP after going 8-12 from the floor to tally a game-high 23 points.
Peyton Law chipped in with 12 points while
Chase Fiddler added 11.
Phil Horton led FHU at the glass with five rebounds while Lax gave out a team-high six assists.
Â
Up Next
With the automatic berth into the 2023-24 NAIA Basketball Championship, the Lions will watch the selection show on March 6 to learn who the three other teams will visit Henderson in the first and second rounds.
