Wrapping up the 2023 half of their season, the No. 11 Freed-Hardeman University Lions leaned on their point guards, as Quan Lax and JJ Wheat combined for 36 points to lead FHU to a 77-50 win over the University of St. Francis (Ill.) Fighting Saints.
Freed-Hardeman (12-2) dominated the point, tallying 50 points in the key including making four of their first five buckets on layups. Chase Fiddler knocked down a 3-pointer at 13:14 to give the men in maroon an early 9-7 lead. After a USF triple narrowed the Lion lead to one, FHU would go on an eight-point unanswered run with JJ Wheat’s layup at 4:33 putting the Lions ahead 19-10. Undeterred, St. Francis would connect for three late 3-pointers before a last-second layup sent FHU to the locker room nursing a 25-24 halftime lead.
The Lions would heat up in the second half, going 19-25 in the final frame. Not only did the offense begin to click, FHU’s defense also toughened up allowing St. Francis (2-9) to go just 5-24 from the floor in the second half. Five minutes into the second half the Fighting Saints were hitting free throws to stay in the game, trailing by four at the 15:51 mark, but the Lions would erupt across the next five minutes. JJ Wheat went 6-6 from the free-throw line in the middle of a 16-0 run ending with Quan Lax’s layup at 10:49 giving FHU a 52-32 edge. The Lions continued to push into the paint, bucketing eight layups in the final 10 minutes with St. Francis only able to convert free throws. Geraldo Lane joined Lax with layups in the final two minutes to give the Lions the 77-50 win.
FHU stood tall in the paint, scoring 50 points to USF’s 14 points in the paint. The Lions were solid from the floor, shooting 59% compared to the Fighting Saints’ 30% afternoon.
Quan Lax led the charge for FHU, going 8-12 to bucket 20 points. JJ Wheat hit every shot he took, going 4-4 from the floor and 8-8 from the charity stripe to total 16 points. Geraldo Lane was a perfect 4-4 from the field to collect 11 points. Hunter Scurlock led at the glass with seven rebounds while Chase Fiddler and Peyton Law both took away four steals.
Up Next – The Lions will finish non-conference play with an 11-2 record, and will begin preparations for the Mid-South Conference slate at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, January 11, against Cumberland (Tenn.) University.
