Complete Game Notes in .PDF Format Here

• Today the Lindenwood Lions will play their first ever home MIAA conference game against the Pittsburg State Gorillas.

• The Lions return home after having their last two games on the road. Lindenwood lost both of those games. Last time out the Lions fell in overtime to No. 12 Northwest Missouri State.

• The Gorillas are coming of a 81-70 win over Central Oklahoma and have won its last three games.

• This will be the second all-time meeting between the teams. The last time they have played each other was in 1988. The Gorillas won that game 105-68.

• This season the Lions are scoring 82.5 points a game. That total ranks first in the MIAA and is the fourth most in Division II.

• This season's roster consists of five seniors and those seniors are leading the way. The five seniors are scoring 64 percent of the team's average points per game.

• Lindenwood has done a good job spreading the scoring around this season. The Lions have four separate guys averaging double figures.

• Alex Bazzell has been the Lions go to scorer so far this season. He has led the team in scoring in five-of-six games.

• Senior forward Richie Thompson has been dominating the glass in the early season. Thompson  has grabbed 55 rebounds in the first six games. His average of 9.2 is the top average in the MIAA.  

• Freshman guard Brandon Marquardt is making an early impact in his first season of college basketball. Through six games he is averaging 7.7 points and is  9-for-12 from behind the three point line.

• Through five games this season, Lindenwood is absolutely dominating the glass. The team is averaging 43.0 rebounds a game compared to its opponents 32.8 and has won the rebound battle in all but one game.
 
• Brett Thompson is making his return to the court in 2012-13. After red shirting in 2011-12 due to a knee injury he is back in the Lions lineup. In his first five games this seasons he is averaging 11.2 points and over four rebounds.

• Over the past two seasons, the Lions have seen overtime numerous times. In 2011-12, the team played three overtime games. The team has already played two extra periods this season. The Lions have a 2-3 record in overtime since last season.

• Dating back to last season Lindenwood has a current 10 game home winning streak.

• The Lions have shot 61 more free throws than their opponents. When the team shoots more free throws than its opponents, the team is 4-1.

• Lindenwood has outscored its opponents in both the first half and the second half this season. But the second half has been the Lions best. The team has outscored its opponents 265-194 in the final 20 minutes.

• The team's current two game losing streak is the longest since the team lost three consecutive games in the 2009-10 season.

• Senior point guard Alex Bazzell is creeping up the career lists at Lindenwood. He is just 12 points away from being the ninth player in school history to score 1,000 points. He is third in free throws made, third in assists, and second in free throw percentage.

• Both the Lions losses this season have come by just seven points in each game.

• Defense has been the name of the game in the early season. The Lions are holding their opponents to just 38 percent shooting from the field. Opponents are scoring just 67.2 points a game.

• After playing a season without a conference the Lions will play this year in the MIAA. Lindenwood will play 18 conference games.

• The Hyland Arena floor has been very good to the Lions since Brad Soderberg took over. In his first four seasons, Lindenwood is 43-5 at home.  

• For the first time in school history the Lions have had three consecutive 20 win seasons. All three seasons have been under the watchful eye of Coach Soderberg.

• The Lions return seven of their top eight scorers from last season's squad. The only loss was Kramer Soderberg who averaged 17.9 points. 

• The Pittsburg State Gorillas come to the Hyland Arena for their first conference road game of the season. The Gorillas have an overall record of 6-1 and a conference mark of 1-0. Pitt State won its first conference game of the season on Thursday night against Central Oklahoma.

• As a team Pittsburg State is averaging 80.9 points a game on offense and is surrendering just 72.6 points on the defensive side of the floor. The Gorillas are shooting 44 percent from the field and 42 percent from behind the three-point line.

• Pitt State is led in scoring by Kaleb Porter who is averaging 18.4 points a game. Courtney Ingram is second on the team in scoring with 12.1 and A.J. Adams chips in with 11 points a game. JaVon McGee leads the team in rebounding with an average of 7.3.

• Kevin Muff is in his third season as the head coach of Pitt State.