Henderson, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Southern Firehawks handed Faulkner their first loss of the season in a thrilling 77-75 win in the second game of the Christian College Classic.
The Firehawks (2-1) battled hard with the Eagles. Faulkner (2-1) complied their largest lead with just under eight minutes left in the opening stanza. UTS relied on an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to retake the lead and hold a 34-31 advantage at the half. Kavion Hancock led all scorers at the break with 11 points.
Both teams would swap the lead eight times in the first 12 minutes of the second half. With 7:41 left in the game, the Firehawks would retake the lead and they would never relinquish it. Faulkner had a chance to extend the game, but the UTS defense knocked the ball loose as time expired.
Hancock led all scorers with 26 points, and Adarion Hudson pitched in 17, 15 of which were in the 2nd half. Faulkner would outshoot the Firehawks 43.5-43.1 percent from the field. Faulkner would also connect on more triples than UTS making 14-24.
"What a hard-fought win," commented Coach Dugan Lyne. "Faulkner does a great job defending and trying to take things away. I'm so happy we were able to overcome their hot 3-point shooting and look forward to competing again tomorrow!"

NEXT UP
The Firehawks will face the Falcons of Florida College tomorrow at 6 pm in the final game of the classic. Florida College defeated the host Freed-Hardeman 83-72 today. Live stats and live video will be provided by FHU.