NW Tennessee News

Hoping to bounce back from their first loss in 13 games, the No. 8 Freed-Hardeman University Lions did just that with an 81-64 win over the Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College Blue Raiders. As a team, FHU continued their solid shooting, going 56% from the floor as a team.

For the Freed-Hardeman Lions, (15-3, 11-1 MSC) it was a slow start as the men in maroon and white saw their guests jump ahead to an 8-2 lead. A 3-pointer from the Blue Raiders seemed to put the Lions on the ropes to lead 11-4 at 15:28. FHU began to sink their shots, driving ahead with a 12-3 run that began with a jumper from JJ Wheat and closed with a triple from Peyton Law. Across the next several minutes, Lindsey Wilson would never lead by more than one possession, but the Lions were never able to overtake them. That changed when Ryley McClaran hooped in a layup with 2:49 remaining in the half to give the Lions their first lead since the beginning of the half. Moving into intermission, it was a 32-30 lead for Freed-Hardeman.

It was a 3-pointer from McClaran that shattered the hopes of Lindsey Wilson (6-11, 2-10 MSC), who hoped to continue to give the Lions a difficult time defensively. The big turnaround for the Lions came in the form of a 13-15 run from the field that showed FHU had zeroed in on the hoop. Brandon Thomas bucketed a pair of layups while connecting on three free throws at 14:00. Well-timed 3-pointers for the Blue Raiders would see the Lion lead tip down to single digits, but a 10-0 run by the Lions kept LWC out of reach the rest of the game, hearing the buzzer sound with FHU on top 81-64.

Brandon Thomas led his Lions with a 20-point effort, going 7-9 from the floor and 6-8 from the charity stripe. Ryley McClaran was not far being, hooping 15 points. Geraldo Lane grabbed a team-high six rebounds, while Hunter Scurlock doled out three assists.

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