The Lindenwood men's basketball team overcame an 11-point second-half deficit on its way to a 79-71 victory over Avila on Monday night. The win came a few hours after the Lions moved up 10 spots in the national poll to No. 4, the highest NAIA Division I national ranking in school history.

Lindenwood's defense is one of the biggest reasons for the program's high ranking, but it was also the cause for the Lions falling in a hole in the first half. Avila shot 56.3 percent from the field and made seven three-pointers on its way to taking a 47-39 halftime lead.

Avila built an 11-point lead on four occasions early in the second half, but it was Lindenwood's defense that turned the game around. The Lions held Avila without a field goal for nine and a half minutes at one point. During that span, Lindenwood went on a 23-1 run that put it ahead by a 71-60 score. The biggest moment in the run came when Kramer Soderberg put the Lions ahead at 61-60, and Richard Rose then scored seven straight points in three straight possessions.

Avila fought back to within four at 75-71, but the Eagles missed five field goals in the final minute and Lindenwood finished the game off with four free throws.

In the second half, the Eagles shot under 30 percent from the field and from the three-point arc. Lindenwood, meanwhile, shot 51.9 percent from the field and made 10 of 13 free throws.

For the game, Lindenwood had a big advantage at the free throw line, making 14 more shots than Avila. That helped the Lions overcome 11 three-pointers and eight more rebounds by the Eagles. The Lions shot 50 percent from the field and 73.3 percent from the free throw line, while Avila shot 44.1 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from the line.

The Lions had five players in double-figure scoring, but none was bigger that Garrett Reeg. Reeg stepped in when starting center Brett Thompson was injured early on and scored a season-high 14 points. He was six of seven from the field and had a team-high seven rebounds. Also off the bench, Alfred Nelson scored 10 points on four of five shooting from the field.

Lindenwood's guard trio finished with 49 points, including making 18 of 21 from the free throw line. Soderberg had a team-high 18 points and five assists. Alex Bazzell finished with 16 points and Rose had 15.

Lindenwood improves to 15-1 overall and 6-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play. The Lions will host Central Methodist on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Hyland Arena.