HENDERSON — Phil Horton scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the No. 4 Freed-Hardeman Lions. But the Lions fell to the No. 19 University of the Cumberlands Patriots 86-75.
It was a swing battle in the first half with the Lions (22-5, 7-4 MSC) falling behind thanks to a 12-3 run by the visitors.
Jordan Stephens' layup at 14:40 helped the Lions score 10 answered points with
Sam Powell's 3-pointer putting the Lions on top 14-12. The clubs went back and forth until the Lions sank six free throws from
Blake Dean and
Geraldo Lane followed by a jumper from Stephens to make it a nine point lead. The Patriots scored the final points of the half to set a halftime score at 39-35 in favor of the Lions.
The second half was the Anthony Johnson show for the Patriots, (20-7, 9-2 MSC) with the guard bucketing 23 points in the second act. The FHU lead extended to six on the first shot of the half with a layup from
Peyton Law, but for every FHU bucket, the Patriots would score two. Late 3-pointers for UC put the game out of reach of the Lions in the 86-75 defeat.
The Lions were held to just 38% shooting while the Patriots shot 53% from the floor. Cumberlands out-rebounded FHU 43-28. The Lion bench scored 31 points, but the starting five was all that was needed for UC with the starters earning all of the points.
Phil Horton led the charge with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Blake Dean followed with 11 points while
Geraldo Lane and
Jordan Stephens each tallied 10 points.Â
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Up Next
The road for the 2024-25 regular season ends with a bang as the Lions host the No. 2 Georgetown Tigers on February 22 at 3:00 p.m.
