Freed-Hardeman University’s men’s basketball squad was tested in the first half against the (RV) Southeastern (Fla.) University Flames, before a 49-point second half pushed the Lions to a second victory against a team receiving votes in the NAIA rankings 88-66.
Despite Brandon Thomas kicking off the scoring, FHU (6-2, 3-0 MSC) stumbled out of the gates, coming up empty on four consecutive possessions while the Flames bucketed seven points. Nearing the midway point of the opening half, the Lions trailed SEU 13-9. Then FHU found its stride, with Phil Horton making back-to-back jumpers before Thomas knocked down his free throws to knot the game at 17-17. After trading buckets with the Flames, Hunter Scurlock was fouled on a successful layup to give the Lions the lead they would hold until the final buzzer at 6:05 of the first half with his ensuing free throw make putting FHU on top 23-20. The Lions went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe to help lead them to a 39-32 halftime lead.
The Southeastern Flames (3-5, 1-2 SUN) took nearly three minutes to tally their first field goal of the second half, struggling to maintain possession. Across all 40 minutes, the Flames coughed the ball up 12 times with FHU taking advantage of the takeaways by connecting for 17 points off of turnovers. On FHU’s half of the court, the Lions stormed out of the locker room, connecting on 11 out of their first 13 tries from the floor to explode to a 43-26 lead at the 7:44 mark. In the game, Southeastern tried to stay in the game with the long ball – attempting 29 3-pointers to the Lions’ 16. Neither team had great success from deep, with the Flames connecting for nine and FHU converting two. While the ball was not falling from beyond the arc, the Lions were lights out from the floor – shooting 57.6% as a team to complete the win 88-66.
Brandon Thomas led FHU’s scorers, bucketing 20 points by going 8-for-11 from the floor, and Geraldo Lane was not far behind, converting six of his seven attempts at the free-throw line en route to a 16-point night. JaQuan Lax hit both of the Lions’ 3-pointers, helping him to a 12-point night, with Hunter Scurlock adding 10 points. JJ Wheat led the Lion rebounding with seven boards.
Up next – The FHU Lions will stay on the road to visit Campbellsville (Ky.) University’s Tigers for a Mid-South Conference matchup on Thursday, December 1. Tipoff from CU’s Powell Athletic Center is set for 6:30 p.m.
