HENDERSON — The No. 2 Freed-Hardeman University Lion's bench out-scored the bench of the visiting Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders 31-5 to help the Lions earn a Mid-South Conference victory 76-69.
The first half featured a close battle with the lead being single digits throughout the frame with the Lions (19-2, 4-1 MSC).
Geraldo Lane and
Makai Vassell got the battle started with points in the paint before the visiting Blue Raiders became unstoppable from long range by hitting five straight 3-pointers. For the Lions,
Dalton Colbert and
Jordan Stephens answered with triples to keep FHU's lead intact. The Lions were helped at the charity stripe by going a perfect 10-10, but the Blue Raiders tallied nine long balls. By the end of the half, the Lions found themselves trailing 36-35.
The Lions quickly regained the lead with a pair of free throws from Lane before
Peyton Law knocked down back-to-back jumpers to take a 43-41 lead. The Blue Raiders (13-7, 1-4 MSC) would go a tear by out-scoring the Lions 7-1 to take a four-point lead.
Blake Dean connected for a layup at 14:10 to spark a 13-point run by the Lions and keeping the Blue Raiders off the board until 9:03.
Peyton Law's layup gave FHU the largest lead of that game at 57-48. LWC would stay within two possessions, but the Lions were able to exit with the 76-69 victory.
The Lions shot 55% from the floor while the Blue Raiders were held to 33%. Though both teams turned the ball over 12 times, FHU made the opposition pay by scoring 20 points while LWC tallied seven. The maroon and while had 36 points in the paint to Lindsey Wilson's 14.
Jordan Stephens dropped a season-high 20 points to lead FHU's offense, followed by
Geraldo Lane and
Peyton Law each tallying 14 points.
Makai Vassell pulled down a team-high six rebounds in the victory.
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Up Next
The Lions finish the first half of Mid-South Conference play with a trip to Cumberland where they face the Phoenix on January 30 at 7:30 p.m.
