BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The No. 5 Freed-Hardeman University Lions scored 44 points in the second half to survive a tough quarterfinal against the Campbellsville University Tigers 68-63.
As the No. 2 seed in the tournament, the Lions (24-5) watched as the Tigers jumped out to an early lead with before
Peyton Law tallied the first five FHU points to level the score at 5-5 with 16:23 remaining in the half. The Tigers added separation to take a 17-9 lead at 8:46, but FHU slowly chipped away at the lead with seven straight points from the hand of
Makai Vassell before a dunk from
Phil Horton gave the Lions their first lead of the game at 24-22. Campbellsville would score the last four points of the opening half to take a 26-24 lead into intermission.
Though the Tigers (12-17) hit the first shot of the second half, the Lions quickly turned the tables with
Jayson Nixon's 3-pointer sparking a 12-point unanswered streak by Freed-Hardeman to stun the Tigers and give the Lions a 36-29 lead.
Jordan Stephens netted five straight points before back-to-back slams from
Phil Horton and
Peyton Law gave the Lions their largest lead of the night at eight points. Campbellsville kept hitting timely 3-pointers, drawing within one point as late as 14 seconds, but a layup from Horton put the game away in the 68-63 victory.
The Lions shot 51% from the floor while holding the Tigers to a 38% mark. Freed-Hardeman controlled they key, scoring 36 points in the paint while Campellsville had just 14.
Jordan Stephens made the most of his first start since November 2, leading FHU in scoring with 16 points.
Phil Horton grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in the win.
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Up Next
Another team of Tigers await FHU with the No. 4 Georgetown Tigers lining up with the Lions as the No. 2 seed of the tournament on March 3 at 7:30 p.m. The victors will play the winner of No. 17 Cumberlands and Cumberland for the championship crown.
