HENDERSON — The No. 2 Freed-Hardeman University Lions suffered their first loss in 34 games as the St. Thomas (Fla.) University upset the defending national champions 76-70 in front of thousands of Chester County School students.
Though
Rico Yarbrough opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, the Lions (1-1) fell victim to a nine-point run by the Bobcats before
Birman Jenkins' triple was the first based scored in four minutes.
Blake Dean knocked down two free throws top open up a 7-0 sprint for Freed-Hardeman to reclaim the leas with
Cam Hudson's trey at 9:12 giving FHU a 24-17 lead. Yarbrough would then help the Lions with back-to-back buckets on the fast break to give FHU their largest lead at 10.
Taveon Comage bucketed the last three scores of the first half for FHU with the Bobcats hot on the Lions' heels to end the first half with FHU clinging to a 41-35 lead.
St. Thomas (2-0) came out strong in the second frame, scoring five straight points and holding FHU scoreless for the first 4:26 of the second half. Dean added a 3-pointer to give FHU a two-possession lead at 48-42, but the Bobcats scored eight unanswered points to complete the comeback and take a two-point lead at 50-48. St. Thomas was able to extend their lead to five points until
Derrick Roberson and Yarbrough bookended a six-point run to give FHU their final lead before STU out-scored FHU 10-3 in the last two minutes to hand FHU the 76-70 loss.
The Lions shot 39% from the floor, including hitting eight 3-pointers. FHU's bench did much of the heavy lifting, scoring 44 points to St. Thomas's six bench points.
Blake Dean and
Rico Yarbrough shared the team high for the Lions with 14 points. Dean hit three triples while Yarbrough went 6-for-10 from the field.
Taveon Comage and
Derrick Roberson followed with 12 points each. Yarbrough led the Lions at the glass with six rebounds while Comage had a team-high three assists.
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Up Next
Freed-Hardeman hits the road for the first time in 2026-27 with a trip to Central Baptist (Ark.) College on November 3.Â
