JACKSON, Tenn. - 1/20/2007 - Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ University men’s basketball posted their fifth straight win with an 84-68 win over Freed-Hardeman University on Saturday. Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ, ranked No.12 in the NAIA, improved to 13-4 on the season and 6-1 in conference play. Freed-Hardeman fell to 5-14 overall and 3-4 in league play.
With the win for Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ, coupled with a loss by Lambuth University in their game on Saturday, the Bulldogs moved into a tie for first in the TranSouth with a meeting between the two top teams scheduled for Thursday, January 25 at Lambuth.
In tonight’s win, Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ quickly built a lead and led 25-9 at the 11:20 mark in the first half. Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ continued to slowly add to the lead and led by as many at 19 points, 46-27, before settling for a 46-30 halftime lead.
Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ shot 63-percent from the field in the first half, including 4-of-9 (.444) from behind the arc.
Freed-Hardeman posted a 32-perenct shooting performance in the first 20 minutes, however, managed 6-of-14 (.429) three pointers.
In the second half, Freed-Hardeman came out with a quick 6-0 run to cut the Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ lead to just nine points at 46-37 with 17:31 left to play. Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ, however, shrugged off the slow second half start to stretch the lead back to 17 points at 54-37, thanks to an 8-0 run sparked by a three pointer by Tony Brown. Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ maintained a double digit lead for the remainder of play, leading by as many as 18 points in the second half. After Freed-Hardeman cut the lead to 12 points with 1:08 left to play, Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ closed out the game with a 4-0 run to win 84-68.
Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµâ€™s poor shooting in the second half (.286) dropped the team to 45-percent shooting for the game. Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ shot 29-percent from behind the arc (5-17) in the game. Despite the shooting struggles, Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ committed just 10 turnovers in the contest, compared to the 18 for the Lions. In the game, Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ was out-rebounded by their opponent for only the fourth time all season as the Lions held the overall edge 46-42 and also the offensive rebound edge 19-11.
Freed-Hardeman finished the game shooting 33-percent from the field including 12-of-31 (.387) from behind the arc.
Up next for Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ will be a non-conference game at No. 9 Mountain State University in Beckely, West Virginia. Game time is set for 6:00 pm. Back on December 2 at Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ, the Bulldogs defeated Mountain State 91-81.
#DOGS#
| Steven Aldridge Phone: (731) 661-5027 |
Fax: (731) 661-5182 |