complete game notes in .pdf format
Storyline
The Lindenwood men's basketball team has three conference games this week, including two home games against teams that have combined to win the last four conference championships.
The week starts on the road on Monday evening when the Lions take on Avila. Lindenwood then returns home on Thursday against the defending HAAC Champions, Central Methodist. Saturday, MidAmerica Nazarene comes to Hyland Arena for an afternoon battle.
Lindenwood enters the week on a school record 13-game winning streak. Three of those victories came last week against Central Bible, Missouri Valley, and Graceland. The two conference victories helped the Lions improve to 5-0 in HAAC play and they placed Lindenwood in sole possession of first place in the conference standings.
Last Time Out
Lindenwood defeated Central Bible last Monday by an 84-48 score in its final non-conference game of the regular season. Brett Thompson had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Alex Bazzell, Alfred Nelson, and Michael Boos also had double-figure points.
On Thursday, Lindenwood pulled away late in a 77-66 win over Missouri Valley. The guard trio of Kramer Soderberg, Bazzell, and Richard Rose scored 65 of the team's points. Thompson, Nelson, and David King combined for 28 boards.
Saturday, Soderberg hit a jumper in the last second for an 86-84 win over Graceland. The Lions shot 60 percent from the field and hit a season-high 13 three-pointers. Soderberg finished with 27 points and Rose had 25. Bazzell added 14 points and a team-high five assists, and Nelson finished with 11 points.
Guard Trio
Lindenwood's guard trio of Kramer Soderberg, Richard Rose, and Alex Bazzell have accounted for 57.7 percent of the team's scoring this season.
Last week in the team's two conference games, that trio scored over 80 percent of the team's points.
Three-Point Shooting
Lindenwood has moved up to second in the NAIA in three-point shooting with a 41.3 percentage. The Lions are also 15th by making over eight three-pointers a game.
Over the last seven games, Lindenwood is shooting 45.4 percent from three-point range and making over nine three-pointers a game.
Richard Rose leads the team's three-point attack. He is making 55.8 percent from beyond the arc, which ranks second in the NAIA. Rose is sixth with 3.2 three-points a game. In the last two conference games, he is averaging six three-pointers a game and shooting 66.7 percent.
HAAC Leader
Lindenwood leads the HAAC in scoring offense with nearly 79 points a game. Over the last six games, the Lions are averaging 83.2 points a game and have scored at least 77 points in every contest.
The Lions also lead the conference in scoring margin, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three-point percentage.
Win No. 250
Lindenwood head coach Brad Soderberg enters play this week two wins shy of 250 for his career.
Soderberg's Scoring
Kramer Soderberg has increased his scoring total in recent games. Soderberg is averaging 21.0 points a game and shooting 53.0 percent from the field the last five games.
Soderberg scored over 20 points four times in those five games, and has seven games with 20 or more points this year.
Free Throw Shooting
Lindenwood has shot over 70 percent from the free throw line in seven straight contests. In that span, the team is hitting 78.9 percent from the charity stripe. The Lions currently rank fifth in the NAIA in free throw percentage.
Four different Lions are shooting above 80 percent, led by Kramer Soderberg at 88.9 percent.
Early Leads
Lindenwood has trailed just once this season at halftime. That one time was the team's lone loss against Southern Nazerene.
For the season, Lindenwood is holding opponents to 29.8 points a game in the first half, and the Lions are putting up 36.9 points a game in the first half.
Broken Streak
While Lindenwood's winning streak continued last Saturday, another streak ended. The Lions had gone 27 straight games against HAAC programs without allowing over 70 points, but Graceland topped that mark versus Lindenwood
In 28 games against HAAC programs since Brad Soderberg took over the Lindenwood program, the Lions are allowing just 66.6 points a game.
Scouting the Eagles I
Avila has won two straight games and is 6-8 on the year. The Eagles are 2-3 in HAAC play and need just one more win to match last year's conference win total.
The Eagles lead the NAIA in three-pointers with 9.7 a game, and are 11th in three-point percentage by making just under 40 percent. Defensively, Avila is 10th in the HAAC by allowing 74.5 points a game.
Quinton Branch leads the team with 18.5 points a game, and he has hit 39 three-pointers. Four other players are averaging over eight points a game. Kevin Booker is the leading rebounder with 6.9 boards a game.
Head coach of Avila is Rodney Perry who is in his first season as a collegiate head coach.
Scouting the Eagles II
Last season's HAAC Champions are struggling after losing four starters from last year's squad. The Eagles have lost six straight games to fall to 6-10 overall and 1-5 in conference play.
Central Methodist leads the HAAC by forcing 18.5 turnovers a game and having a +2.69 turnover margin.
The duo of Tyler Bredehoeft and Jake Clark lead the team in scoring with 16.1 and 14.3 points a game, respectively. Clark leads the team in rebounding with 5.8 boards a game.
Head coach of Central Methodist is Jeff Sherman. He has won 490 career games, including 471 at Central Methodist.
Scouting the Pioneers
MidAmerica Nazarene, which won every HAAC Championship from 2007-09, is off to a slow conference start this year at 2-3. All three losses have come by 10 or less points. The Pioneers are 7-8 overall on the season.
MidAmerica Nazarene is in the top half of the conference in scoring with over 75 points a game, and the Pioneers are 27th in the NAIA by shooting 47 percent from the field.
Rustin Dowd leads the team with 24.2 points a game, and Lucas Weigel and Keith McCullough also average double-figure points. McCullough leads the team in rebounding with 6.4 boards a game.
Head coach of the Pioneers is Rocky Lamar. Lamar is 561-291 in his 25th year at the school.
Last Season
Lindenwood won both games last year over Avila by double-figure points. The Lions went 1-1 in the regular season over both Central Methodist and MidAmerica Nazarene, with the home team winning every game. In the HAAC Tournament, Lindenwood won a semifinal contest at Central Methodist.
Up Next
Lindenwood ends the first half of the HAAC schedule with games against William Jewell on Jan. 22 and Benedictine on Jan. 24. Both of those teams are currently one game behind the Lions.
