Lions hand No. 6 Martin Methodist first loss of season

The Freed-Hardeman Lions have had some big wins this season, but perhaps none as important and impressive as tonight's win over the No. 6 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) RedHawks.

The RedHawks (16-1, 4-1) came into the night as one of only two unbeaten teams in the NAIA along with No. 1 LSU-Shreveport. When they left Henderson, though, they were no longer able to stake that claim.

The Lions (12-7, 4-1) got off to a strong start in the second half, then held off a RedHawk rally to pick up a 94-85 win on Thursday night in the FHU Sports Center. The win keeps FHU a half-game behind Union (Tenn.) University for the top spot in the TranSouth Conference ratings.

The first half was evenly fought throughout the entire 20 minutes, with nine ties and eight lead changes before Anthony Sampson's floater in the lane gave FHU a 36-34 halftime lead.

The Lions came out of the locker room as the aggressor and opened the second half on a 12-4 run. Eight of those points came from Brian Pearson, who drained a pair of 3-pointers from the right corner and picked up a lay-up on a hustle play after chasing down a loose ball.

Moments later, Freed-Hardeman gave itself a bigger cushion thanks to a 13-4 run capped off by a Cedric Austin 3-pointer to extend the lead to 61-47 with 11:58 to play.

As it turned out, it was a good thing that cushion was there.

The RedHawks regrouped and fought back, outscoring FHU 15-4 over the next four-plus minutes to pull back within three points on a James Justice 3-pointer. The Lions maintained their composure and pushed the lead back up to 10 points on a 3-pointer by Kyle Teichmann with 3:35 to play and again on a Teichmann basket at the 1:40 mark.

But Justice, a junior transfer from Memphis, almost single-handedly kept the RedHawks in the game scoring his team's next nine points on a pair of 3-pointers and three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt to get MMC back within four points with just under a minute to play. After an FHU turnover, Derwin Gage hit one of two free throws to again turn the contest into a one-possession game with 34 seconds left.

Sampson, however, calmly drained both ends of a double bonus after being fouled on the inbounds pass to put Freed-Hardeman up by five. That was followed by a big defensive play by Austin, who got his hand on the ball while Justice was dribbling and called a timeout after diving on the loose ball.

Sampson again made a pair of free throws and then came up with a big defensive play of his own, stripping the ball away from LaQuantis Stewart after Stewart grabbed an offensive rebound in the lane. Two more free throws gave FHU a nine-point lead and effectively sealed the win.

Teichmann, who earlier in the week wasn't expected to play tonight's game, posted his sixth double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Sampson added 16 points and seven assists while Austin scored 17 and Pearson contributed 14.

Justice finished with 25 points to lead all scorers, with 20 of those coming in the game's final seven minutes.

The Lions will play their fourth game in eight days on Saturday as they travel to face Mid-Continent (Ky.) University at 4:00 PM.

Teichmann: An offensive technician

Speed and length are two of the Union men's basketball team's strengths this season, but neither was a match for Freed-Hardeman's Kyle Teichmann on Saturday.

Teichmann tied a career-high 29 points by scoring inside and outside in a 94-89 loss to No. 17 Union.

The 6-foot-6 sophomore has eclipsed the 20-point mark eight times in 17 games this season, building upon this past season in which he was named TranSouth freshman of the year.

Teichmann may lack some of the physical strength that FHU fans were used to when former center Zack Frey was the cornerstone of the program.

But Teichmann brings various technical skills to the Lions' offense even with less than two collegiate seasons.

"He killed us (Saturday)," said Union coach David Niven. "He can go inside or outside. He can put it on the floor and drive.

"(FHU) got it to him on out-of-bounds plays and in the halfcourt. And we didn't play bad defense either. He is one of the best in our league."

Teichmann faced a Union roster with five players standing at least 6-foot-6, including a mixture of athletic low-post and perimeter defenders.

But he withstood a pounding in the post on offense and defense while creating shots on the perimeter for himself and others against quicker defenders.

"He's a really good player," said FHU coach Jason Shelton. "He's very solid in a lot of areas.

"He can always improve offensively and he is still learning about post defense. But he steps up and makes baskets in an unselfish way and looks for teammates as well."

Teichmann spread his points out in Saturday's game, but scored nine of FHU's first 11 points to offset Union's 7-2 start.

He opened the second half by completing a three-point play, handing the Lions their largest lead at 46-40.

The Brentwood native hit one of his two 3-pointers to tie the game at 62-62 before scoring his last 10 points in the final 5:30 to keep FHU close.

"It depends on the game," Teichmann said when asked if he had a preferred way to score. "We see what the defense is doing and find a mismatch.

"(Saturday) I played well outside."

Teichmann leads the team with 19 points and seven rebounds per game, and his efforts have become more important since FHU lost seniors Ken Bingham and Vincent Barnes.

Bingham, the team's second-leading scorer with 11 points, will have surgery on his Achilles tendon Tuesday while Barnes (five points, four rebounds) can play a lot of different positions.

Bingham played Jan. 8 in a win against Cumberland while Barnes (broken foot) has missed the past three games.

Both players could be out for the season.

"I do feel like I have a target on my back even more so," Teichmann said. "My teammates played really well (against Union), and we can carry that over.

"We are still adjusting to the injuries."

Copied from the Jackson Sun 1/17/2011. Matt Vines is the writer.

Boehler, Teichmann take conference player of the week honors

Freed-Hardeman University swept the weekly TranSouth Conference basketball player of the week awards on Monday as Meribeth Boehler earned honors on the women's side while Kyle Teichmann did the same on the men's.

Boehler, a 6-foot-2 senior from Ramer, Tenn., regained the top spot on the NAIA's scoring list after averaging 27.3 points per game during the week. She surpassed 30 points for the third time this season in a 93-58 win over Blue Mountain (Miss.) College, scoring 31 to lead the way in the win. She also posted 27 points against Tennessee Temple and 24 against Cumberland (Tenn.) University as the No. 6 Lady Lions went 3-0 on the week.

The senior currently leads the nation in scoring, averaging 24.3 points per game.

Teichmann, a 6-foot-6 sophomore from Brentwood, Tenn., also had a big week offensively, averaging 23 points per game as the Lions went 2-1 for the week with a pair of conference wins. He scored 23 points in a 74-62 win at Blue Mountain and followed with 28 in a 66-64 win over Cumberland.

The Lady Lions are 13-3 on the season and 2-0 in conference play while the Lions are 10-6 overall and 2-0 in conference.