Here’s a recap of Lyon College women’s and men’s basketball action Tuesday against the Freed-Hardeman Lions from Matt Jagodzinski, the sports information director at Lyon College:
No. 22 Scots knock off top-ranked Lady Lions
HENDERSON, Tenn. – The 22nd-ranked Lyon College women’s basketball team came into Tuesday night’s game at No. 1 Freed-Hardeman on a mission. Going up against the defending national champion and an undefeated team, the Scots knew they had a tough task ahead of them. The Scots put together their best game of the season and snapped the Lady Lions’ 25-game winning streak which began at the end of last year with their title run. It is the first time the Scots have defeated the top-ranked team in the country since a 58-52 win over then-No. 1 Campbellsville on Nov. 28, 2015.
The win for the Scots makes things that much more interesting atop the American Midwest Conference (AMC) standings. Lyon (15-3, 11-2 AMC) remains in a tie with Columbia for second place in the conference, but the pair now move within a game of FHU, who leads the conference with a 13-1 record in the AMC (19-1 overall).
The Scots weathered the storm early against the Lady Lions as Freed-Hardeman jumped out to a 13-8 lead after the first quarter. The Lady Lions pushed their lead to 10 in the opening minutes of the second quarter, only to see their lead diminish after a 12-0 run by the Scots which was capped off by a jumper by Oumy Ndoye and gave Lyon a 24-22 lead. FHU took the lead just before the end of the half on a bucket each by Haylee Croom and Chynia Brooks.
The third quarter set the stage for a thrilling finish as the two teams took their turn taking the lead. A four-point lead by Freed-Hardeman in the opening minutes was the largest lead of the quarter. Lyon took its turn at the lead at the 5:06 mark after a three-pointer by Liz Henderson and once again on a three by Ali Tucker with 3:27 remaining in the period. FHU ended the third with a pair of buckets by Croom and took a 40-37 lead into the final period.
The difference in the game came in the final quarter as the Scots outscored the Lady Lions, 28-16, over the final 10 minutes of the game. Trailing, 44-41, with 8:28 left to play after a jumper by Croom, the Scots began to rally back following a layup by Madison Riley. Liz Henderson accounted for the next five points for the Scots before Samantha French began to take control of the game and scored eight straight points for the Scots that gave Lyon a 55-53 advantage. FHU answered back to tie the game at 56-56 before Tucker gave the Scots the lead once again with a key three-pointer from the wing. The Scots ended the game with two points each from Riley, French and Tucker to seal the win.
French and Henderson both posted double-doubles for the Scots as French ended with a new career-high and a game-high 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds, while Henderson chipped in 10 points and 11 boards. Croom had a big game for the Lady Lions as she finished with 22 points and 19 rebounds.
“We finished the game so strong, but I am most proud of their toughness and resolve throughout the game, especially when we got down 10 in the first half,” said Lyon College head women’s basketball coach Tracy Stewart-Lange on the team’s win. “They really showed a lot of grit and toughness.”
“I thought in the second half and down the stretch, our rebounding and timely baskets were key. We have rebounded well all year, but it was never more important than it was tonight,” said Stewart-Lange.
The Scots will return home and host Park tonight at 5:30 p.m. as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer program.
Men’s basketball storms back in second half to defeat FHU
HENDERSON, Tenn. – The Lyon College men’s basketball team used a 21-8 run midway through the second half to storm back and defeat Freed-Hardeman on the road, 67-65. The Scots moved to 12-7 (7-5 American Midwest Conference) with the win, while FHU dropped to 3-17 (1-11 AMC).
Trailing, 41-29, with 14:00 left to play after a jumper by FHU’s Kortland Martin, Eric Moses opened up the comeback with a jumper of his own. Ray Price followed with a pair of free throws before Moses added three more of his own. The Scots began to feel the momentum shift in their direction and started to heat up from beyond the arc as Faris Verlasevic hit two of his four triples around a three by Moses to cut it to a one-point game at 46-45 with 8:37 left in the game. The Lions answered back with a three-pointer of their own by Jalen Thompson before the Scots overtook the lead after a layup by Ray Price and another three by Verlasevic. FHU managed to tie the game at 52-52, but a free throw by Antanas Krimelis allowed Lyon to regain the lead as the Scots held on the rest of the way.
The first half was close the entire way between the two teams as a five-point lead by the Scots in the opening minutes was the largest lead for either side. Freed-Hardeman rallied back from the 7-2 hole to overtake the lead at 8-7. The two teams went on to exchange the lead five different times and tied the score on four different occasions down the stretch of the opening half as the Lions took a one-point advantage, 26-25, at the break.
Moses led the Scots offensively with a team-high 21 points, including 10-for-11 at the charity stripe. Verlasevic added 19 points, with the four key three-pointers in the second half. Kortland Martin led all scorers with a game-high 22 points for FHU.
The Scots will return home and host Park tonight at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer program.
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