The No. 14 Lindenwood men's basketball team couldn't upset its second straight top 10 opponent, falling to No. 2 Southern Nazarene by a 79-71 score on Saturday night.

The Lions fell in a 10-point hole in the first half, in large part due to a 9-0 run late in the half by the Crimson Storm that put them up by a 33-21 margin. That lead would grow to as much as 17 in the first eight minutes of the second half. Up to that point, Southern Nazarene had hit seven three-pointers, while Lindenwood was 0 for 10 from beyond the arc.

The three-pointer shooting changed in the final 12 minutes as Lindenwood found its outside shot, knocking down five for the rest of the game. Lindenwood trailed 68-49 when Richard Rose hit back-to-back three-pointers. That sparked a 10-0 Lion run that cut the lead to single digits. Lindenwood continued to cut into the lead but ran out of time as the closest it got was five with 12 seconds remaining.
Southern Nazarene was slightly better than Lindenwood in most statistics, recording one more field goal, four more three-pointers, two more free throws, and seven more rebounds.

Kramer Soderberg led Lindenwood for the second straight game with 28 points. He was eight of 13 from the field and 11 of 13 from the free throw line. He also paced the team with five assists. Rose and Alex Bazzell both had double-figure points as well. Bazzell, David King, and Brett Thompson each had a team-high five rebounds.

Lindenwood will be in action again on Thursday night when it hosts NCAA Division II Maryville at 7 p.m.