By Jeremy Wright
FHU Sports Information Intern
The Freed-Hardeman University men’s basketball team (17-8, 14-6 AMC) defeated Missouri Baptist University (14-13, 10-11 AMC) on Saturday 106-77 to stay in the race for first place in the AMC.
It was the Kortland Martin and Bryan Battle show in the win. Martin set a new career and FHU single-game scoring record with 44 points, 26 in the second half, surpassing his previous career-high 41 points. He shot 15-of-24 from the field and 8-of-12 from three.
Battle tied his career high with 31 points, which included four triples and 10 rebounds for the double-double on his senior night.
In the first half, it was a game of runs. To start, Missouri Baptist got an early 8-2 lead before the Lions would respond with a 16-0 run to make it 18-8. The Spartans would come alive again with a 9-0 run to make it 18-17 and the Lions countered again with a 11-0 run to make it 29-17. For the rest of the half, it was back and forth, as the Spartans would cut the lead to as little as four points, but the Lions went into halftime with a 43-36 lead.
In the second half, Missouri Baptist came out in a 2-3 zone, which played to the Lions shooting strength. They shot 16-37 for the game from beyond the arc and would outscore the Spartans 63-41 in the final 20 minutes en route to a 29 point win. The Lions looked like the better team throughout the game, as they finished the regular season series vs the Spartans 1-1. With the win, the Lions remain in third place in the AMC standings and a half game back of first place with two games remaining in the regular season.
The Lions will start a two-game roadtrip to close out the regular season tonight against Lindenwood-Belleville after the Lady Lions.
