The Lindenwood men's basketball won its home opener on Wednesday night at Hyland Arena. The Lions defeated crosstown rival Maryville by an 82-66 margin. 

The Lions were able to overcome a cold shooting first half from the outside thanks to big nights from post players Stanislas Heili and Zachary Biggs. Those two players made a combined 11-of-12 from the field and scored 25 points, and were a big reason for Lindenwood outscoring Maryville 40-30 inside the paint. 

Heili and Biggs were also the sparks of the team's first-half run that gave Lindenwood the lead for good. The Lions trailed 13-8 after the first eight minutes, but the Lions' big-men duo scored the next eight points of the game. Lindenwood eventually extended that to a 28-10 run that gave it a 13-point lead, and the Lions went into halftime up 38-30.

The Saints cut that lead to five at two points early in the second half, but an 8-0 run by Lindenwood put its lead back into double-digits, where it would stay for the rest of the game. LJ McIntosh started that run with a three-pointer, and Cory Arentsen scored the other five points.

Lindenwood finished the game with a .492 shooting percentage, compared to a .456 mark for Maryville. The Saints also turned the ball over 15 times, which led to 19 Lions points. The Lions won the rebounding battle by seven boards, and made nine more free throws in the contest.

Arentsen led the team with 23 points and four assists, and he also grabbed seven rebounds. Brad Newman added 17 points. Arentsen and Newman combined for 26 of the team's 44 second-half points. Biggs finished with a career-high 15 points, including making seven-of-seven from the field. Heili had a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, including 10 points and nine boards in the first 20 minutes.

The Lions improve to 3-0 on the season. Lindenwood hits the road this weekend for another battle against the Great Lakes Valley Conference, when it faces Missouri-St. Louis at 3 p.m.