The Lindenwood men's basketball team returned to its winning formula of strong defense and good shooting on Saturday afternoon in Bolivar, Mo. The final result was a 68-47 conference victory over Southwest Baptist.

The Bearcats came out hot, hitting six of its first seven shots. Lindenwood's defense took over after that though, holding Southwest Baptist to just 10-of-38 (26%) shooting the rest of the way. Southwest Baptist had its final lead at 19-17, but Lindenwood went on a 7-0 run and never trailed again.

The Lions led 33-22 at halftime, and never led Southwest Baptist back in the game in the second half. The Bearcats were still within seven at 47-40 with 10:47 remaining, but Lindenwood closed out the game on a 21-7 run.

Lindenwood finished the contest shooting 48.8 percent from the field, and it had 30 points in the paint. Southwest Baptist finished with a 35.6 field-goal percentage. The Lions also had a big advantage at the free-throw line, going 29 times and making 22, compared to 10 made free throws and 14 free-throw attempts for the Bearcats.

In the battle between the top two rebounding teams in the MIAA, Lindenwood won by a 31-27 margin, and the Lions had 12 second-chance points, compared to five for the Bearcats.

Cory Arentsen led the offense with 25 points, including a perfect eight-of-eight shooting from the free-throw line. Chandler Diekvoss, Zachary Biggs, and Brad Newman all finished with nine points. Diekvoss led the team with eight rebounds, and Sam Mader had seven. Diekvoss, Arentsen, and Biggs all had two assists, and Artensen had a game-high three steals.

Lindenwood improves to 12-5 overall and remains in first place in the MIAA with an 8-3 mark. The Lions return home next Thursday for a contest against Pittsburg State.