The Lindenwood men's basketball team dropped a 70-66 decision to Pittsburg State on Thursday night at Hyland Arena. The loss dropped the Lions into second-place in the MIAA standings.

Lindenwood opened the game hot from the field, and it had a double-digit lead at 24-14 with eight minutes remaining in the half. The Gorillas would get back into the game with a 7-0 run, and the Lions' lead at halftime would by five at 34-29.

The turning point in the game came at the start of the second half, when Pittsburg State held Lindenwood without a point for nearly seven minutes, which helped the Gorillas take the lead. Pittsburg State's run was eventually a 19-2 spurt, which put the Gorillas up by a 48-36 score.

Lindenwood's shooting finally heated up, led by Cory Arentsen. Arentsen scored 16 points in a span of 7:18. His last point was a three-pointer that put the Lions up 61-60 with 2:31 remaining. Pittsburg State quickly answered though and finished the game on a 10-5 run. Lindenwood was down 64-61 with under 20 seconds to play, and the Lions missed a three-pointer. The Gorillas then hit all six free throws down the stretch to earn the upset victory.

Lindenwood held Pittsburg State below its season scoring average, but the 70 points was the most the team has allowed since Dec. 5. The Gorillas shot 46.6 percent from the field, including 50 percent in the second half, and they turned the ball over just five times. The Lions shot 48.3 percent for the game, including 57.1 percent in the first 20 minutes. Lindenwood had 11 more turnovers though, and went to the free-throw line just four times, nine fewer than the Gorillas.

Arentsen finished the game with 27 points. He was 11-of-19 from the field, including five-of-10 from three-point range. He also had four assists and four rebounds. LJ McIntosh was also in double-figure scoring with 13 points. Stanislas Heili led the team with 13 rebounds and three blocks, and Sam Mader also blocked three shots.

Lindenwood falls to 12-6 overall and 8-4 in the MIAA. The Lions are now in a tie for second in the MIAA with Missouri Southern, the team it faces on Saturday afternoon at Hyland Arena at 3 p.m.