LEBANON, Tenn. — Two days after netting his career-high in points, Blake Dean matched that with another 24-point effort as he led the No. 2 Freed-Hardeman University Lions to victory over the Cumberland Phoenix, 75-61.

The MSC battle started with a basket from Rico Sain and a 3-pointer from Phil Horton to give FHU (24-1, 8-0 MSC) an early lead. The hosting Phoenix quickly turned around to tie the game at 7-7, but Dean's first basket of the night gave FHU the lead they would hold the rest of the game. A push in the middle of the half saw FHU outscore CU 10-2 to put the Lions on top 28-15, but back-to-back 3-pointers made it a two-possession game. Sain would score the final five points in a 9-0 run by the Lions to end the first half with a 36-23 lead.

While Freed-Hardeman usually scores in bunches, it was Cumberland (8-13, 1-6 MSC) that managed to string together baskets while forcing defensive stops in between. Dean and Sain teamed up to score five quick points to hold a 46-33 lead at 13:46. A 3-pointer from CU at 4:24 narrowed that FHU lead to five points before Dean scored seven points in the span of two minutes to lead an 11-0 FHU run. By the final horn, FHU claimed victory 75-61.

For just the second time this season the opposition had a higher field goal percentage with FHU shooting 44% and Cumberland sitting at 46%. FHU forced 27 Phoenix turnovers while giving the ball up just 14 times.

Blake Dean led all scorers with 24 points, followed by 19 points from Rico Sain. Jamarcus Powell led with six rebounds.
 

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