Thu, Jan 19, 2012 - [Men's Basketball]
PULASKI, Tenn. - The last time that the Freed-Hardeman Lions played in the Curry Life Center against Martin Methodist (Tenn.) College, a pair of FHU free throws tied the game only to see the RedHawks nail a last-second 3-pointer to win the conference championship.
Tonight's game had an eerily similar finish, but a slightly different outcome.
The Lions (13-6, 3-2) battled back from an 11-point deficit to take a late lead and saw MMC's potential game-winner fall off the mark as FHU upset the No. 9 RedHawks (14-4, 5-1) on the road, 83-82.
After Kyle Teichmann made one-of-two free throws with seven seconds left to put the Lions ahead by one, E.J. Kirby's 3-pointer from the left corner as time expired did not turn into a repeat of the game between the two schools 10 months ago.
Last March, it was James Justice who made the game-winner. Tonight, he had the ball in his hands on the last possession but dished out of traffic to Kirby in the corner.
FHU's first lead in the second half did not come until two-and-a-half minutes to play, when Teichmann made a pair of free throws to put the Lions ahead 80-79. Eight minutes earlier, the Lions had seen their largest deficit of the game of 11 points following a 3-pointer by Ree McCrory.
But Freed-Hardeman systematically worked its way back into the game, and used a 9-2 run to take the late lead.
Laquantis Stewart made one-of-two free throws with 1:24 left to tie the game, before Teichmann again hit two free throws to put the Lions up by two with 42 seconds remaining.
Stewart scored quickly on the other end to tie the game again with 30 seconds left, giving FHU a chance at the final shot. Anthony Sampson's layup attempt was swatted out of bounds with eight seconds remaining, and Teichmann was fouled on a quick inbounds pass to send him to the line where he gave the Lions the lead for good.
Freed-Hardeman held a four-point lead with 3:28 to play in the first half, but the RedHawks closed with an 11-2 run to take a 37-32 lead into halftime. MMC then used a 13-4 run to extend its lead to 11 points at the 10:33 mark before the Lions began to make a comeback.
Teichmann led all scorers with 30 points while Jonathan Milewski added 18. Chandler Mack was one point short of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds, and Sampson added 12 assists.
The Lions return home on Saturday to host Mid-Continent (Ky.) University at 4:00 PM.
