MARIETTA, Ga. ---- The Life University men's basketball team broke through to end its three-game conference losing streak, defeating Freed-Hardeman, 72-64, behind a 24 point offensive explosion by senior guard Cam Horton tonight in the Eagles' Nest.
 
NOTES
• Life U improves to 8-8 (4-8) on the year following the victory, while Freed-Hardeman drops to 11-8 (6-7).
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS 
•  Horton had his best game of the season by far, lighting the Lions up for 24 points while hitting on 4-of-5 deep balls to go with his five rebounds.
• James Moore and Danny Lewis both broke into double-digit scoring as well with 13 and 11, respectively. Moore added nine boards and two blocks to go with his points, while Lewis had two assists and a steal.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
• The Lions struck first and maintained that lead for the first nearly 10 minutes of the first half. Timely shots in the paint by Nathan Presnell at 17:50 and Horton at 12:10 kept the score within a single possession.
• Horton finally got the Running Eagles a lead, 14-12, that they would hold the remainder of the half by hitting on a deep ball from right in front of Freed-Hardeman's bench with 11:40 left in play. With 2:45 left in the half Derrick Cook lobbed up a ball to James Moore which he slammed down for the emphatic dunk and a 27-22 advantage. Jordan Hernandez shot a three in the eye of a Lions defender with just over a minute left till the break, pushing the lead to 33-26.
• Life U took its first double-digit lead in the first possession of the second half, Isaiah Hart getting in a layup. Lorenzo Ferrell grabbed a steal which led to another huge dunk by Moore as the bench exploded, Life U taking one of its largest leads of the game, 54-41.
• With 5:56 left in the game, Moore connected on what was a rare deep shot for the big man, pushing the lead to 63-52. Horton connected on timely threes in back-to-back possessions to keep Life U up, to give the game's final score of 72-64.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Life U had a lopsided advantage in shooting, hitting a blistering 24-for-48, 50%, from the floor compared to Freed-Hardeman's 24-for-62, 38.7%.
• The Lion's outshot the Running Eagles 12-for-29 as opposed to 8-for-24 from deep, while Life U had a massive advantage on getting to the line, shooting 16-for-24 while Freed-Hardeman had 4-for-5.
• Life U led the Lions in both points in the paint 30-24 and rebounds 39-29.
 
UP NEXT 
• The men's basketball team hits the road for the first time in a while for its next game, traveling to Martin Methodist Monday, February 8 at 9 PM.