2011-12 Men's Basketball

HENDERSON, Tenn. - In a series where overtime games are common, it took a pair of misses on Freed-Hardeman's final possession to keep another one from happening.

Down two with possession and playing for the final shot, the Lions missed twice to enable Lee (Tenn.) University to escape with a 68-66 win at the Sports Center on Friday night.

The loss is the third straight for No. 16 Freed-Hardeman (7-4), while Lee (8-4) wins its fourth consecutive game.

The first half saw seven ties and nine lead changes, with Lee taking a 29-27 lead into the break.  The Flames made a pair of 3-pointers to extend their lead to eight points early in the second half, but FHU went on a 13-4 run to take a 40-39 lead at the 14:53 mark.

But Lee, which fell out of the NAIA's Top 25 for the first time in 26 polls on Monday, answered with a 13-2 run of its own to open the largest lead of the game at 52-42 with 10:04 to play.  The Flames maintained a 10-point lead for the next three minutes and never trailed the rest of the game, though the Lions certainly had their chances.

The Lions pounded the ball inside, using points in the paint and free throws to cut into Lee's lead.  FHU slowly chipped away over the game's final seven minutes and had a chance to tie after Zack Frey made a shot from the right block and was fouled to make it a 67-66 game with 24 seconds left.

But Frey missed the free throw, his only miss from the line in the half, and the Flames went to the line themselves where Josh Nofflet made one-of-two with 20 seconds, meaning FHU still had a chance to send the game to overtime.

Ken Bingham's baseline jumper, however, was off the mark and Vincent Barnes' attempt at a putback bounced off the rim.  FHU managed to regain possession near Lee's basket with five-tenths of a second remaining, but Jesse Moulton's inbounds pass flew over the top of the backboard.

Bingham led all scorers with 23 points while Zack Frey added 20.  Bingham and Frey combined to shoot 21 of the Lions' 23 free throws.

The going gets no easier for FHU, which travels to Florida Southern College, the No. 3 team in NCAA Division II.