Henderson, TN – The sixth ranked Patriots battled on the road against #7 Freed Hardeman but came up short 81-73. UC drops their first MSC matchup of the year and move to 18-2 on the season.
 
The Patriots were led by Jonathan Brown who went for a season-high 25 points. Anthony Johnson added 18 points, four rebounds and three steals while Robertas Jonaitis contributed 12 points and three boards. Harry Morrice snagged a team-high eight boards and scored seven points followed by DJ Jones who scored six points and had four steals. UC turned the ball over a season-high 18 times and FJU took full advantage, scoring 24 points off the Patriots miscue.
 
UC started the game with a quick steal leading to a Brown slam dunk. The Lions responded with seven points over the next four minutes before Brown banked in a deep three. FHU continued to shoot well, taking a 16-7 lead at the under-12 media timeout.
 
The Lions added three more out of the break followed by a nice post move by Harry Morrice through contact. The big man completed the three-point play to move back within nine. A pair of offensive rebounds and put backs from Johnson and Matthew Cromer made it a five-point game with 9:20 to play in the half. A pair of J.J. Ramey FT's and an alley oop from DJ Jones to Brown brought the deficit to just 21-23. Freed-Hardeman outscored the Patriots 15-12 over the remainder of the half. Brown added a pair of threes including a step-back at the buzzer as UC trailed 38-33.
 
Jonaitis started the second half with a basket to pull the Pats within three, but Freed answered right back with a dunk on the other end. Both teams traded baskets over the next ten minutes of play until FHU strung together a couple baskets to grow their lead back to 11. This stretch saw Johnson lead all scorers with 12 points respectively.
 
UC tried to battle back as Brown hit a free throw and Jonaitis scored back-to-back buckets plus two free throws to cut their deficit to six, but FHU replied with six points of their own to go up 74-62 with just under four minutes to play. Brown's fourth triple came with 48 seconds and made it a seven point Lions lead. However, this was not enough as #7 Freed Hardeman took the 81-37 victory.
 
UC will look to bounce back on Thursday as they take on the Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson College. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 PM ET.
 
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