Timely buckets lead Lions to victory over Tigers

January 26, 2023

by Dustin Semore, FHU Sports Information Director

HENDERSON, Tenn. — A clash of conference heavyweights was on display Thursday night with the No. 14 Freed-Hardeman University Lions hosting the No. 10 Georgetown (Ky.) College Tigers. With both teams atop the Mid-South Conference standings, the Lions would need to avenge their loss to the Tigers on January 7 to claim the top spot on the Mid-South standings. FHU took their vengeance on the Tigers with a 72-56 victory in a low-scoring battle.

It was a slow start for both teams who traded four turnovers before taking a shot. Freed-Hardeman (17-5, 13-3 MSC) finally broke the stalemate at 18:49 with Hunter Scurlock's layup. Ryley McClaran would join in with a 3-point jumper to move ahead 5-2 before the Tigers would knot the game with a jumper and a free throw. JaQuan Lax's and-on conversion with 16:55 ultimately gave the Lions the lead they would maintain until the final buzzer. Brandon Thomas would show his dominance in the paint, tallying back-to-back jumpers in the key to extend the Lions' lead. JJ Wheat would push FHU's point total with a 3-pointer at the 11:16 mark to push FHU to a six-point advantage of 17-11. Despite FHU's defensive efforts, the Tigers would stay within two possessions the entirety of the first half, drawing within one point as late at 2:50 with a 23-22 score. The Lions would ride the wave of a 6-0 run into the locker room with the Lions leading at the half 29-22.

The end of the first half going into the beginning of the first half was unkind to the Georgetown (18-4, 12-4 MSC) shooters. The Tigers straddled the intermission with a 0-12 streak from the field, missing their final six shots from the floor in the first half and their first six shots of the second. FHU took advantage of the cold shooting to the tune of 10 unanswered points across four minutes of play to pull ahead 43-26 with 12:18 remaining in the game. To their credit, after the shooting drought ended, the Tigers would hit their next five attempts from the floor including a 3-pointer to set the score at 52-39 with 8:04 remaining. Another scoring run for FHU would give the Lions their largest lead - 18 points - after Brandon Thomas converted the old-fashioned three-point play to put FHU on top 61-43 with 4:04 remaining. 

With both squads in the double bonus early, free throws made up a majority of the waning moments of the contest, with FHU tallying seven points from the charity stripe in the final two minutes of play to claim the 72-56 victory.

The Lions shot 68% from the free-throw line, making 23 of their 34 attempts to outscore the Tigers' 14-24 night from the line. Freed-Hardeman out-rebounded Georgetown 42-33 in the victory.

Four Lions touched double-digits with Brandon Thomas's 16-point effort leading the charge. Not to be outdone, Hunter Scurlock grabbed his second double-double of the season with 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds while taking away a team-high five steals. JJ Wheat's 6-9 night at the free-throw line helped him to 13 points, while Ryley McClaran bucketed 12. 

Up Next

The Lions will have a short turnaround, hosting the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) Patriots Saturday afternoon. Tipoff in Henderson on January 28 is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.