Story from Saturday's Game

Lions do it again, down No. 7 Cumberland

Sat, January 31, 2009 - [MEN'S BASKETBALL]

HENDERSON, Tenn. - Freed-Hardeman senior Kristoffer Smith went 39 minutes and 52 seconds without scoring a point.Turns out he was saving his first basket for the game's most critical time.Smith made a driving floater in the lane with eight seconds left to tie the game at 53-53, then rebounded Quentin Turner's miss with two seconds left to send it into overtime where the Lions would get the upper hand on No. 7 Cumberland (Tenn.) University and pull off a 66-59 upset.

"Bobby Knight said that the mental-to-physical is 4-to-1," said FHU head coach Jason Shelton. "Sometimes it's harder to be mentally tough than physically tough. Tonight we had to be both."

The win, FHU's tenth in a row, gives the Lions (17-6, 9-1) sole possession of first place in the TranSouth Conference. Cumberland drops to 18-3 on the season and 8-2 in conference play. It also marks the third time this season FHU has defeated a team ranked in the NAIA's top 10.

Playing on their home floor in front of an excited crowd, the Lions led for much of the game. Zack Frey's three-point play with 13:40 in the first half put FHU on top, 15-12, and the game would stay that way for the next 30 minutes.Cumberland, however, used multiple trips to the foul line along with smothering defense to piece together a 15-2 run that gave the Bulldogs a 51-49 lead with 3:05 to play. After each team made a pair of turnovers, Zack Frey's turnaround from the baseline tied the game at 51-51. But the Bulldogs again were able to get to the free throw line, as Kenneth Simms and Brandon Powell each made 1-of-2 free throws on CU's next two possessions to give them a 53-51 lead with :33 to play.Then came Smith's big basket and rebound.

In overtime, FHU raced out to a 60-53 lead by finally getting to the free throw line themselves after shooting just seven in regulation. Frey went 5-of-6 from the line and Smith had a steal and dunk to fuel the 7-0 run.

"Our guys made plays when we had to," Shelton said. "A lot of different people stepped up and did a lot of different things."

The Bulldogs, who made a living at the line (21-of-29) in regulation, made just 3-of-8 in overtime while FHU converted on 9-of-15 opportunities in the extra period.Frey finished with 17 points while Jesse Moulton added 11. Shun Trevillian and Kirtiss Brown each had 10 points. Brown scored six straight points in the midst of a 9-0 Lion run in the second half.

Freed-Hardeman returns to action on Thursday at 8:00 PM against the team that handed the Lions their last loss, Lambuth (Tenn.) University. The Eagles beat FHU, 76-71, on Dec. 8 in the Sports Center.