HENDERSON - No. 18 Freed-Hardeman toughed out a 68-61 win against Lindsey Wilson, but the Lions have the bumps and bruises to show for their fifth consecutive victory to start the season.
Although no one suffered major injuries and only 15 fouls were called on each team, both teams played through physical contact most of the night.
FHU senior center Zack Frey thrived in the intense environment, scoring a season-high 31 points.
Frey scored 17 of those in the second half when the Lions' offense attempted only 22 shots partly because of their 12 turnovers in the half.
"I would be fine if he took every shot," said FHU coach Jason Shelton. "He is an All-America post player and a senior ... and I thought we did a nice job of getting the ball inside to him.
"(Frey) isn't going to handle the ball and create his own shot, so it takes teamwork to get the ball to him. He took a pounding on the inside, but each team only shot nine free throws so there was no bias in the officiating."
Frey was three points shy of his career-high 34, and finished the night 13-of-17 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
"We knew this was going to be a physical game because Lindsey Wilson plays in a really physical (Mid-South) league," Frey said. "(Shelton) just told us to stay aggressive, and that's what we did.
"The biggest thing so far this season has been the productiveness of transfer Ken Bingham and our freshmen."
Frey scored the first nine FHU points to help the Lions get a 13-2 lead, highlighted by a three-point play to finish a possession that included four offensive rebounds.
The Lions owned a 39-22 rebounding edge, including a 12-5 offensive rebounding advantage.
Lindsey Wilson cut into FHU's lead several times, but a Jesse Moulton steal and layup extended the halftime lead to 36-24.
Moulton and Kirtiss Brown scored nine points each with Frey being the only double-digit scorer. Moulton and Logan Greer added seven rebounds each.
Frey dominated the start of the second half with six points in the opening minutes and FHU took its biggest lead at 49-30.
The Blue Raiders answered with a 16-6 run that cut the FHU lead to 55-46 with 9:50 remaining when Eric McPherson scored three of his team-high 15 points.
Despite slugglish offensive play, FHU never let Lindsey Wilson closer than seven points.
The Blue Raiders tight defense combined with FHU's 19 turnovers helped contribute to the Lions lowest point total of the season with 68 points, but Lindsey Wilson's 61 points is also the second-fewest FHU has allowed.
"Lindsey Wilson is an experienced team that makes the NAIA tournament most years, so we knew they weren't going away," Shelton said. "We made some good adjustments on defense, and we took away some things they like to do."
Lindsey Wilson (3-2) is the third team FHU (5-0) has beaten that is involved in the NAIA poll.
The Lions beat No. 20 Auburn-Montgomery and No. 21 Tougaloo and the Blue Raiders were receiving votes this preseason.
Ten of FHU's opponents are currently ranked in the Top 25, including No. 8 Florida Southern from NCAA Division II.
FHU continues it's brutal non-conference Saturday with a trip to Campbellsville (receiving votes), and its next three opponents after that are ranked.
"We are preparing for the TranSouth, and these are also the types of games that are played in the NAIA national tournament," Shelton said. "Coaches have asked me why I scheduled this way, and I say I am a lazy scheduler and I will say yes to anybody who wants to play."
-Matt Vines, 425-9634
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Lions blister the nets in 111-60 victory
HENDERSON, Tenn. - There's hot shooting, and then there's what the Freed-Hardeman Lions did on Tuesday night.
The No. 18 Lions shot a blistering 63.3 percent from the field - including 66.7 percent in the first half - on their way to a 111-60 blowout over visiting Brescia (Ky.) University.FHU (3-0) opened the game with a Zack Frey turnaround in the paint on its first possession, and held the lead for the entirety of the game. The Lions used an early 17-3 run to build a 28-11 lead with 10:58 to play in the first half, after which Brescia would get no closer than 14 points.
Neither Frey nor Jesse Moulton missed a shot in the first half. Frey was 5-of-5 from the field while Moulton was 6-of-6, including 5-of-5 from 3-point range.
The Lions only slightly cooled off in the second half, shooting 60.0 percent in the final 20 minutes. The Bearcats cut FHU's lead to 20 points on the heels of an 11-3 run, but Frey and Logan Greer triggered a 17-2 burst that extended the Freed-Hardeman advantage to 37 points with 9:46 to play.
Frey led all scorers with 22 points and recorded his first double-double of the year with 10 rebounds. Moulton had 20, 17 in the first half. Once again, FHU's reserves produced a lot of offense with James Haddix (17), Kyle Teichmann (12) and Vincent Barnes (10) accounting for 39 of the bench's 59 points. Teichmann also posted a double-double with 10 rebounds.
The Lions are back in action on Saturday at 3:00 PM as they host No. 21 Tougaloo (Miss.) College, who defeated NCAA Division I Alcorn State (Miss.) University, 109-86, earlier this season.
The No. 18 Lions shot a blistering 63.3 percent from the field - including 66.7 percent in the first half - on their way to a 111-60 blowout over visiting Brescia (Ky.) University.FHU (3-0) opened the game with a Zack Frey turnaround in the paint on its first possession, and held the lead for the entirety of the game. The Lions used an early 17-3 run to build a 28-11 lead with 10:58 to play in the first half, after which Brescia would get no closer than 14 points.
Neither Frey nor Jesse Moulton missed a shot in the first half. Frey was 5-of-5 from the field while Moulton was 6-of-6, including 5-of-5 from 3-point range.
The Lions only slightly cooled off in the second half, shooting 60.0 percent in the final 20 minutes. The Bearcats cut FHU's lead to 20 points on the heels of an 11-3 run, but Frey and Logan Greer triggered a 17-2 burst that extended the Freed-Hardeman advantage to 37 points with 9:46 to play.
Frey led all scorers with 22 points and recorded his first double-double of the year with 10 rebounds. Moulton had 20, 17 in the first half. Once again, FHU's reserves produced a lot of offense with James Haddix (17), Kyle Teichmann (12) and Vincent Barnes (10) accounting for 39 of the bench's 59 points. Teichmann also posted a double-double with 10 rebounds.
The Lions are back in action on Saturday at 3:00 PM as they host No. 21 Tougaloo (Miss.) College, who defeated NCAA Division I Alcorn State (Miss.) University, 109-86, earlier this season.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Bingham, Frey lead Lions past No. 20 AUM
HENDERSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lion basketball team passed its first real test of the season on Saturday afternoon with a 79-77 win over No. 20 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) in the FHU Sports Center in the final game of the LionBacker Classic.
It was the first of eight games in FHU's non-conference schedule against teams ranked in the preseason top 25.
The No. 18 Lions (2-0) used a 10-2 run to build their largest lead of the game at 26-16 with 10:57 left in the first half. But the Senators, a team known for physical and aggressive defense, began to cause problems for FHU on the offensive end. Freed-Hardeman shot just 4-of-16 from the field for the rest of the half while AUM turned the 10-point deficit into a 41-38 halftime lead.
The Senators scored the first four points on the second half to extend their lead to 45-38, but 3-pointers on back-to-back-to-back trips by Jesse Moulton, Logan Greer, and Anthony Sampson helped FHU pull within two points at 52-50 with 16:13 left. After two AUM buckets, the Lions followed with a quick 7-0 burst to take the lead for the first time in the second half with 12:17 remaining.
From there, the teams would trade buckets until Freed-Hardeman's 8-0 run - highlighted by Sampson going coast-to-coast for a layup - put FHU up by six at 67-61 with 5:28 to play.
AUM fought back and answered with a 10-3 run of their own to retake the lead on Kip Small's traditional three-point play with 3:13 to go. But Ken Bingham drilled a deep 3-pointer off right wing after the Senator defense sagged off of him, then stole the inbound pass and made a pair of free throws to give FHU a lead it would not surrender. Auburn-Montgomery's Charles Perona sank two free throws with :19 left to make it a 79-77 game, but the Lions were able to play keep-away from the Senator defenders for the remaining time to seal the win.
Bingham and Zack Frey each scored 18 points for the Lions, while Sampson added a career-high 13. Frey also had nine rebounds to finish just shy of a double-double. AUM shot 50.8 percent to FHU's 44.1 percent, but the Lions made up for the difference by going 11-of-25 from behind the arc.
Freed-Hardeman heads to Nashville, Tenn., on Thursday for its annual exhibition game with former rival and NCAA Division I opponent Lipscomb (Tenn.) University at 7:00 PM.
Notes: This was the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The FHU and AUM women's programs have met three times, twice in the national tournament...Zack Frey moved into 18th place on the all-time scoring list at FHU, passing Tony Shell with tonight's 18 point performance...One night after getting 53 points from the bench, the Lion reserves combined for 28 points tonight. Sampson had 13 of those points...AUM only got eight points from its bench...Frey and Bingham combined to shoot 25 of FHU's 26 free throws.
It was the first of eight games in FHU's non-conference schedule against teams ranked in the preseason top 25.
The No. 18 Lions (2-0) used a 10-2 run to build their largest lead of the game at 26-16 with 10:57 left in the first half. But the Senators, a team known for physical and aggressive defense, began to cause problems for FHU on the offensive end. Freed-Hardeman shot just 4-of-16 from the field for the rest of the half while AUM turned the 10-point deficit into a 41-38 halftime lead.
The Senators scored the first four points on the second half to extend their lead to 45-38, but 3-pointers on back-to-back-to-back trips by Jesse Moulton, Logan Greer, and Anthony Sampson helped FHU pull within two points at 52-50 with 16:13 left. After two AUM buckets, the Lions followed with a quick 7-0 burst to take the lead for the first time in the second half with 12:17 remaining.
From there, the teams would trade buckets until Freed-Hardeman's 8-0 run - highlighted by Sampson going coast-to-coast for a layup - put FHU up by six at 67-61 with 5:28 to play.
AUM fought back and answered with a 10-3 run of their own to retake the lead on Kip Small's traditional three-point play with 3:13 to go. But Ken Bingham drilled a deep 3-pointer off right wing after the Senator defense sagged off of him, then stole the inbound pass and made a pair of free throws to give FHU a lead it would not surrender. Auburn-Montgomery's Charles Perona sank two free throws with :19 left to make it a 79-77 game, but the Lions were able to play keep-away from the Senator defenders for the remaining time to seal the win.
Bingham and Zack Frey each scored 18 points for the Lions, while Sampson added a career-high 13. Frey also had nine rebounds to finish just shy of a double-double. AUM shot 50.8 percent to FHU's 44.1 percent, but the Lions made up for the difference by going 11-of-25 from behind the arc.
Freed-Hardeman heads to Nashville, Tenn., on Thursday for its annual exhibition game with former rival and NCAA Division I opponent Lipscomb (Tenn.) University at 7:00 PM.
Notes: This was the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The FHU and AUM women's programs have met three times, twice in the national tournament...Zack Frey moved into 18th place on the all-time scoring list at FHU, passing Tony Shell with tonight's 18 point performance...One night after getting 53 points from the bench, the Lion reserves combined for 28 points tonight. Sampson had 13 of those points...AUM only got eight points from its bench...Frey and Bingham combined to shoot 25 of FHU's 26 free throws.
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