The Lindenwood men's basketball team was able to survive a cold-shooting night on Monday in Hyland Arena with a 75-62 victory over Brescia. The Lions picked up their eighth win of the season in their final tuneup before conference action.
 
The Lions started out cold from the outside, missing their first 10 three-pointers, and they fell in a 14-12 hole. LJ McIntosh gave the team a spark though, hitting three three-pointers in a three-minute span. His last three-pointer put Lindenwood up 24-20 and started a 9-0 run. That run helped the team eventually lead 34-27 at halftime.
 
Lindenwood never trailed in the second half but it still had to fight for the victory. A three-pointer by the Bearcats tied the game at 51 with a little over eight minutes remaining. The Lions responded by outscoring Brescia 24-11 the rest of the way. McIntosh hit two free throws to put Lindenwood up for good, and Chandler Diekvoss had nine points in that final stretch.
 
Both teams ended the game shooting under 40 percent from the field and under 31 percent from three-point range. The Lions were able to get the free-throw line, outscoring the Bearcats 19-2 from that spot. Lindenwood shot 86.4 percent from the free-throw line, missing just three attempts.
 
Two Lions had double-doubles, the third straight game Lindenwood has accomplished that. Diekvoss had a team-high 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Dominique Dobbs had a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with 18 points. McIntosh had 19 points and hit five of the team's eight three-pointers. Brenon Larson-Gulsvig also had double-figure rebounds with 10, and Adam Pohlman had a team-high four assists.
 
Lindenwood is now 8-2 on the year. The Lions start conference action on Thursday night at Hyland Arena with a 7:30 p.m. game against Pittsburg State. The contest will be a rematch of last year's first-round MIAA Tournament contest, which the Lions won by a 77-68 score.