Win #20

The No. 14 Freed-Hardeman Lions ended a two-game losing streak with a convincing 77-53 win over Bethel (Tenn.) College on Thursday night.

The win moves FHU (20-8, 11-3) into a second-place tie with Cumberland (Tenn.) in the TranSouth Conference standings with two games remaining. It also marks the second straight year that the Lions have won 20 games, the first time since the 01-02 and 02-03 seasons that Freed-Hardeman has accomplished that feat.

The outcome of this one was hardly in doubt from the opening tip as FHU built a 21-11 lead over the first 11 minutes and later used a 12-3 run to extend its lead to 17 points, 33-16, with 4:56 in the half. The Wildcats would not get within 13 points of the Lion lead for the remainder of the game.

Freed-Hardeman's defense, which played a big role in the team's recent 12-game winning streak, reappeared from a three-game absence to hold Bethel nearly 26 points below its season scoring average. The Lions also shut down Dontaye Hinton, limiting the senior forward to a season-low four points. Hinton entered the game averaging 18.1 points per contest.

Zack Frey led all scorers with 21 points, the fourth consecutive game in which the junior center has surpassed 20 points. Jesse Moulton added 12 points while Wesley Mayes pulled down a season-high 12 rebounds.

The Lions now prepare for a big game against No. 4 Union (Tenn.) on Saturday at the Sports Center. The Bulldogs are atop the conference with an 11-1 record after narrowly escaping Martin Methodist (Tenn.) in overtime, 77-76. Freed-Hardeman won the first meeting between the two schools this year, 69-66, in Jackson