HENDERSON — In the NAIA era, the Lions have competed in the TranSouth Athletic Conference, the American Midwest Conference, and now the Mid-South Conference. For the first time in program history, the No. 1 Freed-Hardeman University Lions completed an undefeated conference schedule when they beat the Cumberland University Phoenix, 85-61.
Though
Phil Horton and
Caleb Thomas began FHU's (27-1, 12-0 MSC) scoring with back-to-back 3-pointers, the Lions had a cold first half offensively. After
Rodney Henderson's layup at 16:02, the Lions would go 0-7 from the field. Meanwhile, the Phoenix drove into the paint with a layup at 11:40 giving the visitors a 15-12 lead. Cumberland would extend to a four-point lead as late as 3:48, but
Lane Lauderbaugh and
Rico Sain scored late, with Sain's 3-pointer knotting the game before his buzzer-beating layup gave the Lions a 29-27 halftime lead.
After shooting 32.4% from the floor in the first half, the Lions came out strong in the second half to shoot 57.9%. Sain's 3-pointer at 17:05 put the Lions ahead of the Phoenix (10-16, 2-9 MSC) by double figures before
Blake Dean began a nine-point run to put the Lions on top 54-37. FHU thrived on the fast break, with 14 of their next 16 points coming in transition. Horton added a late 3-pointer to put the exclamation point on the 85-61 victory.
The Lions' depth paid dividends with FHU's bench outperforming Cumberland's 31-8. The Lions dished out 16 assists in the victory.
Phil Horton got his sixth double-double of the season with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Rico Sain followed with 20 points while
DJ McIntyre added 11 points in the win. 10 of the 11 Lions who saw action recorded at least one assist, with
Jailen Anderson leading the way with four helpers.
Up Next
The No. 1 seed in the upcoming Mid-South Conference tournament, the Lions have the first-round bye and will await their opponent in the quarterfinal round. The tournament begins in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on February 27.
