Lion basketball escapes Running Eagles
The No. 3 Lions of Freed-Hardeman University were driven down to the wire by a scrappy Life (Ga.) University Running Eagle team, but the men in maroon and white were able to hit late 3-pointers before sealing the 85-80 win with free throws. After Makai Vassell got things started with a jumper, the Lions (13-1) watched as Life bucketed eight unanswered points including two 3-pointers. The Lions were aided by triples from Ryley McClaran and Sam Powell to right the ship before Blake Dean’s 3-pointer gave the Lions back the lead. Freed-Hardeman never had a safe lead with Life answering every bucket. For FHU, the ranged attack was beneficial with Powell tallying another at 5:21 before Jordan Stephens, Dean, and Jayson Nixon’s 3-pointers helping give FHU their largest lead at intermission at 37-29. It was the FHU bench that proved the difference-makers in the first half. With every statistical category nearly even after the first 20 minutes, the Lion’s bench scored 21 points to Life’s nine. The Life (9-4) team came out the locker room white hot by scoring 10 unanswered points to start the half and forcing an FHU timeout after claiming the lead 40-39. Triples from Peyton Law and Nixon would put the score back in favor of the Lions, but during the game, the Lions and the Running Eagles swapped leads six times and drew even three times. Phil Horton’s old-fashioned three-point play at 7:54 save the Lions the lead for the final time before a thunderous dunk from Geraldo Lane lit a fire under the Lions who would score seven unanswered points to jump to a 70-61 advantage. Chaze Harris and Tyreke Johnson were the only Running Eagles to score the rest of the game, but they kept Life within two possessions the remainder of the game including a set of free throws making the score 80-78 with 19 seconds to go. Thankfully for FHU, Nixon, Stephens, and Law were able to hit their free throws late to put ice on the 85-80 victory. The turnover battle was close – FHU forcing 15 turnovers while committing 11 – the Lions took advantage of those giveaways, scoring 20 points off of turnovers while Life managed four. Again the Lion’s depth paid dividends with FHU’s bench bucketing 46 points to Life’s 18. Phil Horton was the leading scorer for the Lions, going 6-7 from the free-throw line to score 14. Right behind him was Sam Powell who went 3-7 from deep to score 13. Peyton Law extended his double-digit point streak to nine with 10 points. Law has scored 10+ points in 13 of FHU’s 14 games. Horton and Law both grabbed five rebounds while Jordan Stephens had six assists in the win.
Women overcome slow start, finish with win
Despite scoring the fewest points in a quarter all season, the (RV) Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions had another big fourth quarter to keep their unbeaten start alive with a 67-45 victory over Life (Ga.) University in the first game of the Life U Classic. Both the Lady Lions (12-0) and the Running Eagles were ice cold in the first quarter, combining to go 6-19 from the floor. Rachel Satterly’s jumper put the first points on the board at 8:01 before Kaylee Odom and Lilly Kee joined with layups. A late jumper from Life in the final minute made the score 8-6 at the end of the first ten minutes. The eight scored by FHU was the lowest in a single quarter this season. Expecting the Lady Lions and their NAIA-leading 3-point play, the Life Running Eagles (8-5) played fantastic perimeter defense by not allowing a single 3-pointer to fall in the first half, forcing FHU to go 0-10 in the first half. Thankfully for FHU, Odom was playing lights-out post offense with seven points across one minute. All 12 points scored from the floor came inside the key for FHU with Kee’s layup at 1:32 giving the Lady Lions a 22-18 lead at the break. Adapting well to the defense, the Lady Lions only attempted one 3-pointer in the third quarter, again scoring all of their field goals in the paint. Kee also had a solid quarter at the charity stripe, going 4-6. Meanwhile, the long ball was falling for Life, narrowing the gap to start the fourth quarter down three with a 38-35 Freed-Hardeman lead. As has been the case all season, the floodgates opened for the Lady Lions at the most opportune time: in the fourth quarter. Satterly got the collective monkey off the back of the team by sinking FHU’s first 3-pointer in the first shot of the quarter to spark a 6-0 run. The Running Eagles answered in turn with back-to-back triples to make the score 44-43. The 3-pointer at 5:53 proved to be the last shot from the floor Life had fall with the Lady Lions forging ahead with a 12-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Carissa Curtis. Across the last five minutes of the game, Freed-Hardeman out-scored Life 23-2 to escape the first game of the Life U Classic with a 67-45 victory over the hosts. The Lady Lions were dominant down low, out-rebounding Life 41-30 while scoring 34 points in the paint to the Running Eagles’ eight. With their strong ball-handling skills, the Lady Lions dished out 17 assists. Kaylee Odom had her best night of the season, going 8-11 to help her eclipse 20 points for the first time this year. Carissa Curtis was right behind her by tallying 17 points. Lilly Kee chipped in with 10 points. Curtis led the rebounding with eight with Brooklyn Crouch and Rachel Satterly both dishing out six helpers with Satterly tying her career-high.
