GEORGETOWN, Ky. — In a battle of heavyweights, the No. 2 Freed-Hardeman Lions outlasted the No. 1 Georgetown Tigers in overtime. Both the first half and the second half ended in stalemates before the Lions emerged victorious 70-68.
It was a defensive battle at the start with the Lions (17-2, 2-1 MSC) not recording their first points untilÂ
Makai Vassell's jumper at 16:11.
Jayson Nixon tacked on a 3-pointer to open up a 10-point run to give the Lions a 12-4 lead at 12:30. In a game full of momentum swings, Georgetown battled back with eight unanswered points to tie the game 12-12 at 10:46.
Ryley McClaran answered the call with a triple at 6:20 to end a run for FHU to jump back ahead 24-14. Late 3-pointers for Georgetown highlighted the Tigers scoring the last seven points of the first half to go to the locker room with a 28-28 tie.
The Lions were solid from the charity stripe in the second half, going 15-16 in the frame. Georgetown (18-1, 2-1 MSC) had timely buckets, staying within two possessions until back-to-back 3-pointers gave the hosts their first lead of the half at 8:20.
Blake Dean and
Peyton Law calmly answered with a set of triples of their own before
Geraldo Lane and Vassell's free throws gave the Lions back the lead. Vassell put FHU up by three points at 1:32, but Georgetown drained the tying bucket at 1:13 to end regulation with a 59-59 tie.
In overtime, Vassell tallied a 3-pointer with Lane's jumper giving the Lions a five-point lead. Georgetown answered with a 3-pointer and a layup to knot the extra period 66-66 going to the final minute. Vassell's layup was followed by a set of free throws to keep the game tied with 22 second to go. After crossing the tim line and calling time out to draw up a play, Law in-bounded to Vassell who drove to his left to score the layup with five seconds to go. A missed jumper on the end of the floor gave FHU the 70-68 victory.
The Lions were phenomenal on defense, forcing 20 Georgetown turnovers and converting those to 21 points. On the other side, FHU coughed up the ball 10 times to allow seven points. The Tigers out-rebounded the Lions 35-23, but the Lions collected seven steals to GC's two.
Makai Vassell led FHU with 20 points and four steals.
Peyton Law and
Geraldo Lane connected for 14 and 13 points, respectively. Lane led the Lions with six rebounds while
Blake Dean and
Jayson Nixon each had three assists.
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Up Next
FHU returns to Henderson to fact the Campbellsville Tigers and the Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders. Tipoff against CU is slated for 7:00 p.m. on January 23. The matchup with LWC opens at 3:00 p.m. on January 25.
