CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Trailing by 11 points on the road with five minutes to play, the situation did not look overly positive for the Freed-Hardeman Lions.
But that, as they say, is why they play 40 minutes. Or in tonight's case, 50.
The No. 18 Lions came back from the 11-point deficit to force overtime, then shook off a game-tying 3-pointer as the first overtime period expired to finish off the No. 13 Lee (Tenn.) University Flames in the second overtime, 90-86.
The win improves the Lions to 6-1 on the season and gives them their third win over a ranked opponent. FHU also has wins over No. 20 Auburn-Montgomery (Ala.) and No. 21 Tougaloo (Miss.) College.
After FHU opened the game with a 14-7 lead six minutes in, the Flames went on a 14-5 run to take their first lead of the game at 21-19 with 8:22 left in the first half. Lee would hang onto the lead for the majority of the remaining regulation minutes, with Freed-Hardeman's only lead coming on a Jesse Moulton 3-pointer at the 16:34 mark that gave FHU a 39-38 lead.
The Flames answered with a 3-pointer of their own and the lead stayed with them, growing to as much as 13 points (62-49) with 6:38 to play.
But Freed-Hardeman, which was plagued by turnovers for much of the game to that point, finally found a rhythm on the offensive end in the final five minutes of regulation. The Lions scored on six of their next nine possessions that included a trio of 3-pointers, the third of which by Ken Bingham tied the game with 37 seconds remaining.
Lee's Teddrick Hardy missed on the other end, giving the Lions a chance to win but Hardy compensated for his miss by blocking a Kirtiss Brown shot to send the game to the first overtime.
In the first overtime it was Lee's turn to hit a clutch 3-pointer as Stephen McClellan got free and connected as time wound down to tie it at 77-77. But the Lions made sure there was no need for a last-second shot in the second overtime, scoring the first four points of the period and never trailing. The Flames tied the game at 82-82 on the strength of two baskets in the span of 20 seconds, but Moulton followed up with a 3-pointer that gave the Lions the lead for good with 1:12 on the clock.
Lee missed two 3-pointers to tie, the second coming with 19 seconds left. Bingham corralled the rebound and was fouled; the junior responded by making both ends of the double bonus to put FHU ahead by five, 87-82, and essentially put the game away.
Bingham led all scorers with 23 points. Kyle Teichmann added 19 points and six rebounds off the bench. Zack Frey scored 16 points before fouling out with 1:34 in regulation. Jesse Moulton contributed 15 points, six of which came in the second overtime.
The Lions aren't done with ranked opponents as they will face two this weekend at the Union (Tenn.) University Thanksgiving Classic. FHU takes on No. 23 Life (Ga.) University on Friday followed by No. 5 McKendree (Ill.) College on Saturday.
