COLUMBIA, Ky. — Campbellsville University held 12th-ranked Freed-Hardeman University to 16 percent shooting in the first half and then held on despite some dicey free throw shooting down the stretch, winning 65-49 in the first game of the Lindsey Wilson Classic.

"The key for us is to start a game with energy," said Coach Keith Adkins, "and I think we did that."

The Tigers turned the Lions over 17 times and that, along with 24 percent shooting for the game, helped CU run its record to 5-1 (2-1 MSC).

"We had a lot of unsung heroes tonight," continued Adkins. "I think Bryton (Taylor), Darius (Clement) and Filip (Stanic) all played well for us. And they're going to need to do that for us to be successful."

Taylor's stat line punctuated the hustle category. The sophomore from Campbellsville snagged five boards, stole the ball five times and scored five points.

"That's got to be his role," said Adkins. "I'll tell ya, if we had hit our free throws it wouldn't have been a game at all."

Freed-Hardeman's strategy in the second half was to jack up 3s and foul whether the shot drew net or not. The final 3:30 of the game CU was 12-23 from the stripe. And, that's with Vernon Payne closing out the game 4-for-4.

The Tigers led 53-41 with four minutes to go and did not attempt a field goal the rest of the way.

The Lions (4-3) were 0-9 from 3 in the first half, but canned eight treys after intermission to end up 8-28.

Payne's layup in the early going gave CU a 7-6 lead that it never relinquished. Payne led the Tigers with nine at the break and ended up leading all scorers with 22. He was joined in double figures by Jordan Myers and Addison Smith with 12 apiece.

Freed had eight players to score in the first half, but no one had more than two points as Campbellsville went to the locker room ahead 25-15.

Malik Thomas and Payne led CU with seven boards each. Darius Clement grabbed six and Myers and Taylor each had five.

Coming out of the break, Clement hit a 3 and Stanic and Smith both hit buckets that put CU up 32-17. When Myers banked in a follow shot at the eight-minute mark the Tigers led by 19, 48-29.

Jonathan Mailewski led the Lions with 14 points.

The Tigers play again tomorrow afternoon in the Lindsey Wilson Classic when they tip off at 3:00 against Belhaven University.

STATISTICS

Tigers (65) — Thomas 3, Myers 12, Smith 12, Stanic 5, Clement 6, Taylor 5, Payne 22. Totals 21-47 17-31 65.

Freed-Hardeman (49) — Gilmore 4, Mack 2, Milewski 14, Young 2, Brown 3, Mann 5, Bass 8, Wooten 6, Harrison 4, Dotson 1. Totals 16-66 9-12 59.

Half-time — Campbellsville 25-15.

Three-point Goals — Campbellsville 6-17 (Myers 2, Smith 1, Clement 2, Taylor 1) Freed 8-29 (Milewski 2, Wooten 2, Bass2).

Rebounds — Campbellsville 44 (Thomas 7, Myers 5, Clement 6, Taylor 5, PaynePayne 7), Freed 41 (Harrison 6, Gilmore 6).re 6).

Assists — Campbellsville 12 (Myers 3, Smith 4, Clement 4), Freed 10 (Mann 3).

Steals — Campbellsville 11 (Taylor 5), Freed 8 (Bass 2).