Saturday was a great day

Saturday May 14th was a great day for the Lions program. We had 5 people graduate from FHU. Three of our seniors from this year, one who finished his eligibility last year and our former player turned strength coach. They are all shown in the photo above. So far in our 6 years we have only had 2 players not receive their degrees and are both very close to finishing those.

Pictured from left to right are: Cedric Austin, Jesse Moulton, Logan Greer, Vince Barnes, and Troy Ledlow.

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.

Lions post impressive win over No. 12 Lee, 90-67

HENDERSON, Tenn. - It may or may not have been a statement game, but the Freed-Hardeman Lions should definitely turn some heads following a 90-67 win over No. 12 Lee (Tenn.) University on Saturday afternoon in front of a large Homecoming crowd.

The No. 23 Lions outscored Lee 40-20 in the second half, largely because the Flames' Jerel Blocker cooled off after a blistering first half that saw the senior score 20 points.

But while he and his teammates struggled from the field in the second half, the Lions didn't.

After shooting 65.5 percent in the first half, FHU stayed hot with high-percentage looks and connected on 50 percent of its shots after halftime while Lee - which shot 63.3 percent in the first - could manage just 27.3 percent in the second half.

That helped FHU to go on runs of 10-0 and 8-0 as the Lions turned a 50-47 halftime lead into a 71-54 lead with 12:21 to play. Lee would only get as close as 13 points the rest of the way.

It was a rare double-digit win in a series that has produced close games over the last few seasons. Three of the last four meetings before today went into overtime, and the other was a two-point game decided at the buzzer.

Freed-Hardeman got a huge game from Kyle Teichmann, who had 18 first-half points on his way to a career-high 29. Cedric Austin was the only other Lion in double figures with 15.

For the second straight game, FHU connected on double-digits in 3-pointers making 13-of-23 from behind the arc. Austin and Anthony Sampson each went 3-for-4.

The Lions will play their first road game of the season on Nov. 18 as they travel to William Carey (Miss.) University for a 6:00 PM tipoff.

Lions hang on to win season opener over Bryan College

The No. 23 Freed-Hardeman Lions held off an experience Bryan (Tenn.) College team in their season opener, starting the year off with a 64-58 win on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions got 29 points from their point guard combination of Anthony Sampson and Cedric Austin. Sampson tied his career high with 16 points while Austin, in his first game back after missing the 2009-10 season, contributed 13 off the bench. Both hit big shots in crucial moments and combined to go 5-for-6 from behind the arc.

FHU led for the majority of the game but couldn't quite put away Bryan (3-2), who stayed close by knocking down mid-range jumpers and playing an aggressive defensive style that resulted in 21 turnovers by Freed-Hardeman.

The Lions, though, canned 11 3-pointers, many of which seemed to come when Bryan was chipping away at the lead.

Freed-Hardeman heads to face Murray State (Ky.) University on Tuesday night in an exhibition contest. Last season, the Racers made a Cinderella run to the NCAA Sweet 16.

COACH MEYER'S BOOK SOON TO BE RELEASED!!! SPREAD THE WORD

Coach Don Meyer represents everything that is good in our profession. He should be a standard that we all strive to reach in the way we treat our players, the way teach basketball, and the way respect the game. On November 9, a book on Coach Meyer's journey will be released. "How Lucky Can You Be" is written by Buster Olney. I've been fortunate to see some pre-writes and Buster has done an amazing job of telling Coach Meyer's story.

Here is a link with more information about the book including ways your can purchase it in advance on-line:http://bit.ly/9xlERg

I NEED A FAVOR! First, I would love for everyone that teaches or coaches any sport on any level to purchase this book. You will be a better coach/teacher for it. I purchased five for our staff. But we really need to spread the word about this book and I would very much appreciate it if everyone that reads my blog would copy this link:
...
http://bit.ly/a3Awkz
...
and email it to as many people in the coaching/teaching profession that you know.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!!

"Don Meyer is a dear friend to me and the entire Basketball Community. His passion to teach, to share, and to live is unmatched. Buster Olney does a magical job of capturing this truly unique man and presents him in a way that is surprising and unforgettable."
-Mike Krzyzewski, Coach of the Duke Blue Devils

"There are very few coaches who have positively impacted the game of basketball and the people who coach it as Don Meyer has done. His passion for the game, for teaching and for building character as well as his commitment to team are legendary. Coach Meyer has taught and given so much to us, and our game is better for it. This book chronicles not only his life as a coach, but his journey as a man through triumph and adversity. His story is a true inspiration and one which everyone should know."
-Pat Summitt, Coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols

"Those of us who savor fine sports journalism have long known that Buster Olney knows the baseball beat. Now, with this beautifully conceived and elegantly executed book Olney shows that he knows the beating heart of life and the pulse of humanity that makes sports matter."
-George F. Will, Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist

First review of Buster Olney's book on Coach Don Meyer!!! http://bit.ly/a8C0m8

Copied from Coach Starkey's Blog at http://hoopthoughts.blogspot.com/