Box Score Henderson, Tenn. - The Cougar men's basketball team couldn't hold a second half lead on the road on Saturday afternoon as Freed-Hardeman University came from behind to earn an 80-65 victory in the NAIA Game of the Week. Columbia, the fourth-ranked team in the NAIA, falls to 16-2 overall and 7-1 in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) with the defeat, their first league loss since February 2^nd of 2012. The sixth-ranked Lions remain the last unbeaten men's squad in the NAIA at 14-0 and improve to 8-0 in conference play.

The Cougars jumped out to an early 12-4 lead as Wendell Crowder and Tanner Sutton each knocked down a three-pointer in the opening minutes of the first half. Freed-Hardeman would battle back to tie the score at 16 and eventually grab a 26-25 advantage on a bucket by Kyle Teichman with 7:22 to play in the frame. The two squads would go back and forth to end the period with the Lions taking a 32-30 lead into the halftime break, led by Teichman with 14 first half points. Both teams shot below their season average from the field, but Freed-Hardeman hit nine of 10 attempts at the free-throw line for the halftime edge.

Columbia quickly erased the halftime deficit with the help of an 18-4 run to begin the second half, taking their largest lead of the contest at 48-36 on a field goal by Sutton at the 15:37 mark. However, the Lions would mount a run of their own over the next six minutes and tie the score at 53-53 on a basket by Damion Wooten with 9:18 remaining. Freed-Hardeman would take control of the game from there and outscore the Cougars 27-12 during the remainder of regulation to capture the win in the first ever meeting between the two programs.

Sutton led three Columbia players in double figures with a season-high 17 points on 3 of 5 shooting from three-point range. The Cougars shot a season-low 37 percent from the field as a team, and hit just 7 of 26 tries from distance and 12 of 21 attempts at the free-throw line. The Lions finished at 50 percent from floor and owned a 36-24 advantage on the boards, led by Teichman with a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds.

Columbia will look to rebound against Benedictine University-Springfield at home on Thursday, January 23^rd. The game will be part of the Suits vs. Sneakers event to help support Coaches vs Cancer. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm at the Arena of Southwell Complex.