HENDERSON — Despite having a significant halftime lead, the No. 1 Freed-Hardeman University Lions received a scare from the Campbellsville Tigers in the second half. Ultimately, FHU was able to claim the league victory, 75-64.
Freed-Hardeman (26-1, 11-0 MSC) came out of the starting gate strong with
Jailen Anderson laying in the first bucket, but it was back-to-back 3-pointers on the fast break from
DJ McIntyre that pushed FHU to a 13-0 lead at 17:24. Campbellsville began to find the hoop to cut the FHU to 20-10. McIntyre tallied another 3-pointer before Sain's trey pushed FHU's lead to 17 points. The Lions' speed was evident in the first half with 17 of their points coming off the fast break. The Lions continued their defensive dominance by forcing nine first-half turnovers before converting those to 16 points off of turnovers. Three triples for FHU from
Blake Dean, Anderson, and McIntyre wrapped the first half with a 46-28 Freed-Hardeman lead.
Anyone around sports for any length of time will know that no lead is safe. That was evident when Campbellsville (18-8, 3-7 MSC) came out of the locker room to score 15 unanswered points and turn a 21-point FHU lead into a one-possession game after a 3-pointer from Campbellsville at 10:42 set the score at 55-52. The Lions were able to string together short runs, leading off with a 6-0 run started by Dean's 3-pointer. Later in the half, Sain's triple sparked an 8-0 run that put FHU back on top by double figures. The Lions were able to hold on for the 75-64 victory.
The teams were even in most statistical categories with FHU shooting 44% from the floor while Campbellsville averaged 43%. Freed-Hardeman forced the Tigers to turn the ball over 17 times while only giving the ball up themselves seven times.
Celebrating his senior day,
Rico Sain led FHU's scorers with 13 points, while
Phil Horton and
DJ McIntyre joined him with a dozen apiece.
Jailen Anderson bucketed 11 points to help out. Sain also led the Lions at the window with eight rebounds while Horton had a team-high three helpers.
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Up Next
The Lions will try to complete a perfect MSC season on February 19 when they host Cumberland Phoenix with a 7:30 p.m. tip.
