CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky.– The Campbellsville men's basketball team hosted the Freed-Hardeman Lions at Powell Athletic Center Thursday night. The Tigers fell to the Lions 62-58, giving up an eight point advantage in the last minutes.
The Lions took an early lead, but Chandler Clements found an opportunity with a backdoor layup to inch Campbellsville closer to an even score. The match intensified as the Tiger offense began clicking. Malik Muhammad made a bucket with one second on the shot clock and drew a foul awarding him a shot from the line. The Tigers trailed by three points and began to lose their cohestion offensively. With five minutes remaining in the half, Campbellsville was 7-20 from the field and 0-7 from the arc. The Tigers were suffering their largest deficit of the match down by eight with time winding down when a steal from Chandler led to a Jarius Key layup. The Tigers were within five points of the Lions at the halftime horn.
To open the second half, Muhammad jammed home a dunk to fire up the home crowd. In the next Campbellsville possession, Javaughn Smith made the first three of the night to cultivate an even score. Shortly after, Key stuffed the basket with another raucous dunk to gain the Tigers the upper hand for the first time since the third minute of the game. After a back-and-forth battle to maintain the lead, Jordan Graham put Campbellsville further ahead with a three-pointer of his own. Not long after that possession, Graham received three shots from the charity stripe and converted all tries. The Tigers' offensive game strengthened as their field goal percentage rose to 44.2%. The Lions did not stop attempting to scratch at their discrepancy as they made a few key plays to keep the game within one possession. With two minutes remaining, Freed-Hardeman made a layup and earned time at the free-throw line. The Lions took the lead from the Tigers. Muhammad reappeared at the charity stripe in the next possession and evened the score with his two buckets. As 33 seconds remained, Freed-Hardeman hit a crucial three-pointer to go ahead for the final time. After a relentless match, Campbellsville didn't recover and fell to Freed-Hardeman, 62-58.
Muhammad led the team with a double-double: 15 points and ten rebounds. Key followed closely behind with 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Tigers will take on Bethel University Saturday, December 3rd. The game will be held at Powell Athletic Center, and tip-off is set for 3 p.m. ET.
