Playing in his final game the Brewer Sports Center, Phil Horton put up his career’s best performance, scoring 34 points to help push the No. 1 Freed-Hardeman University Lions to an 80-72 victory over the (RV) Bethel (Kan.) College Threshers to win the Henderson Regional Presented by the Bramblett Group of the 2026 NAIA Men’s Basketball Championship Second Round.
Rico Sain sank the first basket for the top-seeded Lions (31-1) before the No. 9 seed Threshers immediately answered with back-to-back triples. Bethel would maintain a slight advantage until Horton swished back-to-back 3-pointer to give FHU the lead 18-15. Blake Dean chipped in with a 3-pointer before Horton tallied another back-to-back pair, including one shot from his hometown of Somerville, to force a Bethel timeout with FHU leading by 11. Lane Lauderbaugh would score an old-fashioned three-point play to close the half with the Lions holding a 41-28 lead.
Continuing his big first half, Horton swished a 3-pointer to start the second half before Lauderbaugh would score four fast break points to push the FHU lead over Bethel (22-9) to a game-high 20 points with 8:43 remaining. The Threshers began to find rhythm from long range, hitting five triples in the last five minutes, but free throws from DJ McIntyre, Horton, and Sain closed out the 80-72 victory.
The Lions shot 51% from the field including 10 3-pointers. FHU forced 24 turnovers in the victory while dominating the paint with 30 points in the key to Bethel’s 14.
Phil Horton’s career-best 34 points came on a night with 11-for-14 shooting including seven 3-pointers. Lane Lauderbaugh was the next highest scorer with 14, while Rico Sain added 11. Horton also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds while DJ McIntyre led with five steals.
Up Next - The Lions will advance to the round of 16 in Kansas City, Missouri, for the fourth consecutive season. The Lions await No. 20 Northwestern (Iowa) College, who drew a four-seed in the tournament. Tipoff from Municipal Auditorium is at 5 p.m. March 19.
Lions make it a 30-win season with more to play
The No. 1 Freed-Hardeman University Lions pushed their win total for the 2025-26 campaign to 30 wins with no signs of slowing down as FHU took down the 16-seed Governors State (Ill.) University Jaguars in the 2026 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship First Round with a 92-68 win.
The Freed-Hardeman (30-1) defense was on full display with the Lions forcing three turnovers in the first three minutes of the contest. As the top seed of the Bramblett Group Henderson Regional, FHU leaned on Phil Horton to score the first seven points of the game with a dunk to open followed immediately by a 3-pointer. Rodney Henderson’s fast-break layup at 15:32 opened a 9-0 run for the Lions that ended with Cam Hudson’s basket putting FHU ahead 19-7. It was Lane Lauderbaugh’s game down the streak, with the senior scoring six points in one minute to push FHU’s lead to 16. Caleb Thomas added a 3-pointer before Lauderbaugh sank a triple in the final two minutes of the half. Rico Sain’s layup gave the Lions a 50-27 lead at intermission.
The Lions continued to make life difficult for the Jaguars (22-10) in the second half defensively, forcing as many as six straight missed shots. On the other end of the floor, DJ McIntyre joined in with a 3-pointer to give FHU their largest lead of the night at 28 points. To their credit, Governors State was consistent at the charity stripe in the second half, making 15 of their 18 free throw attempts. Lauderbaugh had a layup at 4:40 before Aidan Farber’s 3-pointer in 1:33 set off the celebration in earnest for the 92-68 victory.
FHU forced 22 Jaguar turnovers in the win, converting those to 28 points. FHU dominated at the glass with 41 boards to GSU’s 27.
Lane Lauderbaugh led the charge with a game-high 25 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds to earn a tournament double-double. Phil Horton was hot on his heels with 16 points. Rico Sain helped defensively with four steals.
