Lebanon, Tenn-- Men’s basketball drops to No. 22 Freed-Hardeman to close out the regular season.

The Lions shot very well through both halves, going 56.5% from the field and 50.0% from behind the arc. The Phoenix struggled to get any significant lead going as they shot 31.6% from the field and hit 9-of-26 threes.

In his last appearance at the Dallas Floyd Arena, Tyler Byrd had a solid outing with 14 points and seven rebounds. Ty’Reek Johnson followed behind with 12 points, while Demarius Boyd picked up nine off the bench. 

Senior Isaac Stephens clinched his 695th rebound in the first half of the game, making him Cumberland’s all time rebound leader. He added eight points and six rebounds in the effort.

Freed-Hardeman was led by Peyton Law who picked up 22 points and nine rebounds. Three other Lions shooters hid double-figures.

The Lions were shooting lights out for the first five minutes of the half, jumping to a quick 12-4 lead. 

Demarius Boyd checked into the game and completely shifted the momentum in Cumberland’s favor. He sank an eight footer that kickstarted an 8-0 run for the Phoenix.

Cumberland would hold down that lead for the next three minutes, until Hunter Sherlock tied it up at 28-28 with a bucket from outside the arc with 2:22 on the clock.

The Phoenix sent Geraldo to the line to give the Lions a one point edge and they immediately laid one up for a 31-28 game.

Tyler Byrd hit his eleventh point of the half on an open three to tie it 31-31. The final possession of the half went to Freed, which they capitalized on to head into the half with a 33-31 advantage.

Cumberland had another quiet start to the second half as the Lions jumped up to as many as seven at the 13 minute mark. Once again, Boyd ignited some fire with a nothing-but-net three pointer to cut it to 44-40.

The Lions quickly recovered their momentum and pushed it out to a 13 point lead, holding the Phoenix at bay for a two minute span. 

At the 6:07 mark, Boyd made a quick steal and brought it down the paint for his second three of the game to cut it down to eight.  

The Lions took advantage of the majority of their positions in the last five minutes and held on for a 74-59 win.