HENDERSON — The No. 5 Freed-Hardeman University Lion basketball team nearly scored as many points off of turnovers as the opposition scored in the entire game. The Lion defense forced the Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) University Hornets to cough the ball up 34 times and turned those into 47 points off of turnovers to help push FHU to a 107-53 victory.
The Lions (7-1) scored in bunches, with the men in maroon going on two different 6-0 runs only to be outdone by their two 8-0 runs. The Lions drove into the paint for a majority of the contest, with
Jailen Anderson,
Sam Powell, and
Rico Sain each tallying layups before the first minute had fully elapsed. Powell knocked down the first 3-pointer of the day to give FHU a 17-8 lead with 15:06 remaining in the half. After
Blake Dean added a few jumpers,
Caleb Thomas joined with a 3-pointer of his own before
DJ McIntyre's triple pushed the Lion lead to 21 at 45-24. Dean would add another long ball in the final minute to end the first act with the Lions leading 55-31.
While the first half featured several smaller runs, it was a set of giant runs in the second half that truly made the separation between the Lions and the Hornets (1-3). A basket at 19:45 was the last point scored by the guests until a free throw at 13:37. In the meantime, the hosting Lions dropped 17 unanswered points with back-to-back Sain slams giving FHU a 72-33 edge. As if 17 unanswered points was not enough, FHU spent the next five minutes out-scoring the Hornets 19-0. In that timeframe, eight different Lions registered points with
Eli Pounders recording the first points of his career. In the final two minutes of play,
Birman Jenkins put a jumper through the hoop to tally his first points as a Lion before a Pounders dunk ended the rout 107-53.
FHU shot 56% from the floor while not allowing the Hornets a single made 3-pointer. The Lions had 20 steals to go along with their season-high 20 assists in the victory.
Sam Powell went 7-for-10 from the field to score a game-high 18 points.
Rico Sain followed with a 14-point night with three steals.
Blake Dean collected 13 points while
DJ McIntyre netted a career-high 12 points.
Phil Horton led the way with eight rebounds while
Jailen Anderson had the helping hand with seven assists.
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Up Next
The Lions open up an extensive road trip where they will first visit the Central Baptist (Ark.) College Mustangs on November 21. After visiting LSU Shreveport, FHU will compete in The Show in Kingsport, Tennessee, before rematching with the HSSU Hornets in St. Louis. They finally return home on December 6 against Central Baptist.
