Playing in their second game in as many days, the No. 5 Freed-Hardeman University Lions held just a single-digit lead throughout the first half. A 44-point second half helped push the Lions to a victory over the Crowley’s Ridge (Ark.) College Pioneers.
The big men got the game going for the Lions (6-1) with Phil Horton, Sam Powell, and Lane Lauderbaugh giving FHU its first six points before Blake Dean’s 3-pointer gave FHU a 9-6 edge with 16:39 remaining in the first half. The hosting Pioneers would answer later in the half when a seven-point run knotted the game 17-17 with just over 11 minutes to go before the break. FHU began to storm the paint with Jamarcus Powell joining Caleb Thomas and Jailen Anderson with layups before Horton and Powell capped off the first half with layups to hold a 40-32 lead at intermission.
The squads traded scores to open the second half with a Pioneer (2-2) 3-pointer keeping the Lion lead in single digits. Back-to-back layups made it a two-possession game with FHU clinging to a 47-42 lead, but the men in maroon began to separate after a 13-3 run pushed FHU’s lead to 15 points. Rico Sain would bucket six points in the span of one minute, before Lauderbaugh’s free throws opened up a run that saw Freed-Hardeman score 15 unanswered points. CRC was held to just one field goal in the final eight minutes of the game before Jake Ballard’s 3-pointer settled the score at 84-54.
FHU shot a season-high 58.5% from the field despite going 2-14 from beyond the arc. The Lion defense forced Crowley’s Ridge into a 28.6% night from the floor while forcing 26 Pioneer turnovers.
Phil Horton was a perfect 6-6 from the field to lead the Lions with 15 points, followed by Lane Lauderbaugh’s 9-10 afternoon from the charity stripe helping him bucket 13. Rico Sain tallied 11 points while both Jailen Anderson and Jamarcus Powell scored 10. Lauderbaugh was one rebound short of back-to-back double-doubles with a team-high nine boards.
The Lions returned to Henderson to face the Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) University Hornets of November 18.
Sain drops 22 points in big win
In front of a lively crowd mostly composed of Chester County Elementary students, the No. 5 Freed-Hardeman Lions had a 22-point victory over the (RV) LSU Shreveport Pilots. Rico Sain bucketed a season-high 22 points in the win.
In the first half, the Lions (5-1) utilized a 13-0 run highlighted by a pair of Sain 3-pointers before Rodney Henderson’s triple gave FHU a 13-2 advantage with 16:31 left in the first half. Though the Lions stormed out to a massive early lead, the Pilots never wavered, slowly chipping away at the FHU lead until a 3-pointer at 7:27 pulled LSUS within two points at a 23-21 score. The first act featured FHU pulling ahead again, with Sain bucketing five points of a seven-point run, before the Pilots scored back-to-back triples, before ending the first half with five unanswered points, sending FHU to the locker room clinging to a 37-35 lead.
Freed-Hardeman’s defense stood strong in the second half, holding LSU Shreveport (2-2) to just eight field goals. On the offensive end, Sam Powell got the scoring started in the second frame with a 3-pointer, before Lane Lauderbaugh bucketed back-to-back scores in the paint. Lauderbaugh’s eight second-half points and five rebounds helped push the graduate student to his second double-double as a Lion. FHU never allowed the Pilots to collect points in bunches, with LSUS never tallying successive field goals. A Jamarcus Powell dunk with a little more than a minute remaining gave FHU their largest lead at 24, before the dust settled on an 82-60 FHU win.
The Lions forced 17 LSUS turnovers while committing just eight of their own. FHU also scored 44 points in the paint to the Pilots’ 24.
Rico Sain led all scorers with 22 points, while Lane Lauderbaugh secured the double-double with 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Phil Horton went 6-11 from the field to tally 12 points. Jailen Anderson led FHU with four assists.
