PULASKI, Tenn. --- The Life University men's basketball team again found themselves knocking right on the door of pulling off a quality road, Mid-South Conference victory, but came up just short in the final minutes on the road at (RV) UT-Southern Monday night, 70-63.

Life U (6-17, 3-15 MSC) stayed in this road contest at a receiving votes UT-Southern (19-7, 14-4 MSC) from start to finish, exchanging leads with the Firehawks multiple times through the opening half and even holding a lead of as much as six at 9-3 after Dara Olonade stole a ball and turned it into a fastbreak scoring opportunity on the other side. UT-Southern retook the lead in the middle portion of the half, but Life U stayed only a step behind, exiting the first down only 31-27.

After an early Chris Barnes free throw tied the game 33-33 coming out of the break, the Firehawks retook the lead and started trying to create some breathing room. By the time there just over eight minutes remained, Life U found themselves in a double-digit hole at 55-42. The Running Eagles bounced back to close the gap, Will Freeman hitting a deep ball to pull within five points with only 5:31 to play. Life U failed to get the stops they needed on the defensive side of the ball, seeing the game end with a 70-63 final.

Three players broke into double-digit scoring, consistent scoring threat Barnes leading the way for all scorers with 19 points to go with his five boards. Cam Horton continued his hot play of recent with a 15 point game, going 4-for-8 from deep, while Olonade registered a solid 12 point and six rebound game.

Life U trailed shooting percentage 40.0% to 47.4%, but led from deep 23.8% to 15.4%. The Running Eagles recorded more rebounds than UT-Southern at 32-29, but did not register as many points in the paint, 42-30. Life U also committed three more turnovers, 15-12.

Life U returns home for its next contest, facing Campbellsville Univ. Thursday, February 10th at 8 PM in the Eagles Nest.