HENDERSON, Tenn. – The No. 11 seeded Bethel Wildcats saw their season come to a close Tuesday night in Henderson, falling to No. 6 seeded Freed-Hardeman 100-66 in the MSC Men's Basketball Tournament Opening Round.
Bethel led 11-6 only to see FHU score 16 unanswered points. The Wildcats never recovered and ended their season at 9-12. The Cats trailed 46-35 at the half but Freed used a 20-5 run in the first six minutes of the second half to take control of the game.
Freed moved to 15-8 and will face No. 3 seed Thomas More (Ky.) in the MSC Men's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals on Sunday at Bowling Green Arena at 7:30 p.m. CT.
Bethel was led by Kamron Rose who recorded a double-double scoring a team-high 18 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. Jarred Walker added 16 points, Jamarius Mayberry chipped in with 11 and Chandler Clements scored 10.
The Lions were led by Wanya King who scored a game-high 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Freed-Hardeman had three other players in double figures with John Musselwhite scoring 16 points, while Kortland Martin and Ryley McClaran added 11 and 10 respectively.
Freed-Hardeman shot 54.7 percent from the field while limiting Bethel to just a 34.8 field goal percentage. The Lions also connected on 45.2 percent (14-of-31) of their shots from beyond the arc in the victory. The Wildcats were 5-of-25 from behind the three-point arc.
FHU had a decisive margin in points off the bench with a commanding 32-7 advantage.
Coach Jeff Britt commented, "It was a tough game for us. Freed simply outplayed us at every turn. We had some defensive break downs and those cost us throughout the game. We had to replace some key players from last years' squad and it proved to be a tough task for us. We had some bright moments during the year and we will work hard beginning immediately to get back where we need to be. I also want to thank our fans for supporting us and staying with us."
