complete game notes in .pdf format

Storyline
Lindenwood has its final tune-up this weekend before conference play starts at the Columbia College Classic. The Lions will face Hannibal-LaGrange on Friday evening and then take on the host school on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions have been great on their home court this year, but have struggled away from St. Charles. Lindenwood will look to change the second part of that trend as it will play seven of its next eight games out of town.

The big game this week will be a Top 20 showdown against last year's NAIA National Runner-Up Columbia. The contest will be the fourth one for the Lions this year against a ranked opponent and Lindenwood will be going for its third win.

The Lions will also face another American Midwest Conference team, Hannibal-LaGrange, in the tournament's opening game.

Last Week's Recap
Lindenwood has gone 2-1 over the last two weeks, finishing second at the Huntington Tournament and moving to 3-0 at home with a win over Missouri Baptist.

The Huntington Tournament opened with a 90-85 victory over William Penn. Richard Rose had a team-high 18 points, including two free throws with under two seconds remaining to force the overtime period. Joey Parker added 17 points, Toriano Adams had 13 points and 15 rebounds, and Brandon Kunkel scored 10.

The next night, Lindenwood fell 84-67 to the host school. Huntington shot 60 percent from the field in the first-half and jumped out to a 14-point lead that the Lions couldn't overcome.

Parker and Rose each scored a team-high 15 points in that game.

Lindenwood stayed undefeated at home with a 74-65 win over Missouri Baptist.

The Lions dominated inside against the Spartans, led by Adams who had 22 points, 14 rebounds, and shot eight-of-nine from the field. Parker added 15 and Rose had 11 points.

FG Percentage Defense
Lindenwood is holding opponents to just a .416 field goal percentage, an improvement over a .441 field goal percentage in 2008-09. Three times in six games, the Lions have held a team under 40 percent.

Free Throw Shooting
Lindenwood has been one of the top free throw shooting teams in the NAIA, making 75.7 percent of its attempts this year. That marks currently ranks sixth in the nation.

The Lions have also been successful getting to the line, averaging 28.2 attempts a game. When the team has gone to the line 25 or more times and gone more than its opponent, it is 4-0. When shooting under 25 free throws and shooting less than its opposition, Lindenwood is 0-2.

Richard Rose leads the team by making 46-of-55 free throws. Joey Parker and Toriano Adams are also both averaging over five attempts a game and making over 70 percent.

Lions Offense
Lindenwood's offensive numbers are up this year, as the Lions are averaging 76.0 points and shooting 44.0 percent from the field. Last year, Lindenwood averaged 74.7 points and shot 43.6 percent from the field.

When the Lions have scored over 70 points this season, they are 3-0.

Dominating The Paint
Toriano Adams has been a dominant force inside for the Lions. He has four double-doubles in six games and is averaging 14.0 points and 10.7 rebounds for the season. Adams is making 66.7 percent of his field goal attempts and 75 percent of his free throws.

Leading Scorer
Richard Rose has a team-high 20.5 points this season, the second-highest scoring average in the HAAC. He has led or tied for the team-high in scoring in five of the six games, and has scored in double figures in every contest.

Point Guard Play
Over the last five games, Joey Parker is averaging nearly five assists a game and he has a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. His scoring has also increased recently. In the last four contests, he is averaging 15.5 points a game and is shooting 51.6 percent from the field.

Rejected By Lions
Lindenwood has blocked 20 shots this year and is on pace to block more shots than 2008-09. Alfred Nelson leads the team with nine blocks, including five versus William Penn. David King is second with four blocked shots in 2009-10.

Close Calls
Lindenwood is 3-0 this year in games being decided by ten points or less, including one overtime and one two-point victory. Last season, the Lions were 9-7 in games decided by 10 or less, including 4-3 in contests that were decided by four points or fewer.

Vs. Ranked Teams
Lindenwood is 2-1 this season against nationally-ranked programs. The Lions have defeated No. 1 Robert Morris (68-66) and No. 23 Life (95-79), but lost to No. 5 McKendree (73-62).

Vs. AMC
The Lions, which play two American Midwest Conference (AMC) teams this week, is 1-1 on the year against other teams from that conference. Lindenwood is looking to finish above .500 against the AMC for the first time since the 2006-07 season.

Last Meeting
Lindenwood did not face Hannibal-LaGrange or Columbia last year. The most recent meeting with Columbia came in 2007 when the Lions fell 85-80. Current Lion player Richard Rose had 17 points in that game, including three three-pointers. Lindenwood and Hannibal-LaGrange have not faced each other over the last decade.

Scouting Hannibal-LaGrange
Hannibal-LaGrange is .500 on the year after dropping to 4-4 after a lopsided loss on Tuesday against NCAA Division II Quincy. The team is 1-1 against HAAC schools, defeating Culver-Stockton and losing to Graceland.

The team is led by its defense, which is holding teams to just a .392 field goal percentage and are blocking over four shots a game. Cody Stoneburner, a 6'10" center, accounts for over half of those blocks.

Brian Gilbert is the leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 16.0 points and 8.7 rebounds a game. Brock Webber, Gerell Wells, and Josh Boswell also average double-figure points.

Jason Durst is in his fifth season as head coach at Hannibal-LaGrange.

Scouting Columbia
Last year's NAIA runner-up is struggling early on this season, having a 3-5 record, including just one win in its last six games. Columbia is 1-2 against HAAC schools, losing to Benedictine and Missouri Valley, and defeating Culver-Stockton.

Defensively, the team is allowing just 62.4 points a game and holding opposing teams under 40 percent shooting. Offensively, the team is averaging just 61.0 points over the last six games.

Chad Thompson is the team leader with 15.1 points and 4.6 rebounds a game. The team is balanced after that, with six players averaging between five and ten points.

Bob Burchard is the head coach of Columbia. He is in his 22nd year at the school and has won 534 games.

Up Next
Lindenwood begins conference play with two road games. The Lions face Culver-Stockton on Jan. 3 and Baker on Jan. 5.