HENDERSON, Tenn. - It wasn't pretty, but it was good enough to get the job done.
The Freed-Hardeman Lions fought through a cold shooting night to post a 71-59 win over Bethel (Tenn.) University on Monday night in the FHU Sports Center and pulled into a tie for first place in the TranSouth Conference in the process.
Earlier in the day, Freed-Hardeman made it back into the NAIA top 25, coming in at No. 23 in the sixth poll of the season. The Lions reached No. 16 earlier in the year before dropping out of the top 25.
The Lions (14-7, 7-1) never trailed in the game but never could quite pull away despite having several double-digit leads. FHU led by 13 at halftime and extended it to as many as 16 points in the second half but the Wildcats (10-12, 2-6) refused to let the Lions put the game out of reach, always going on a short burst to keep the game around a 10-point margin for much of the second half.
Freed-Hardeman, though, never allowed Bethel's short bursts to turn into runs as the Lions relied on pounding the ball inside to their post players or cutting to the basket to get shots in the lane. It was enough to keep the Wildcats at arm's length and pick up their sixth straight win.
Zack Frey and Kyle Teichmann each had 16 points for FHU, followed by Ken Bingham with 15. Logan Greer added 13 points and eight rebounds.
FHU, which had made an average of 10.8 3-pointers per game in its last five games, connected on only 1-of-6 from behind the arc. For the game the Lions shot 42.0 percent from the field, their worst shooting performance since their loss to Union (Tenn.) on Jan. 16.
However, Freed-Hardeman's defense helped make up for any offensive struggles as the Lions held their opponent to 59 points for the second straight game. FHU has allowed just 62.2 points per game during its current win streak.
The Lions return to the floor on Thursday with a trip to Blue Mountain (Miss.) College for an 8:00 PM tipoff.
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