The Lindenwood men's basketball team won its conference opener on Thursday night at Hyland Arena with an 89-83 victory over Pittsburg State. The Gorillas were able to keep the game close with their three-point shooting, but Lindenwood had a strong shooting night overall that got the team its sixth straight victory.
 
The Lions had an early dry spell in the game, going nearly four minutes with a field goal. Pittsburg State went on a 10-1 run during that stretch to grab its largest lead of the game at 18-11. Lindenwood quickly regrouped and tied the game at 28. There were several ties and lead changes after that, and the two teams were tied at 41 at halftime.
 
Lindenwood was the team to start the second half strong, as it took a 66-58 lead at the 11:23 mark. This time, the Gorillas battled back in the latter part of the period, and they took an 83-82 lead with 2:25 left.
 
Brenon Larson-Gulsvig took the game over after that. His three-pointer gave Lindenwood an 85-83 lead with 2:10 remaining (video), and he hit four free throws to clinch the win. Pittsburg State never scored again after its brief lead, as it had three straight turnovers and then a missed field goal in its final four possessions.
 
The Lions shot 54.4 percent from the field, and hit nine-of-19 from three-point range. Pittsburg State shot 47.6 percent from the field and hit 14-of-30 from three-point land. Lindenwood went to the free-throw line 12 more times and made nine more shots. The Lions also outrebounded the Gorillas by a 38-26 margin, and had a 42-28 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Chandler Diekvoss finished with a game-high 26 points, and he shot 12-of-15 from the field. He also had seven rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. Larson-Gulsvig had 21 points and a team-high four assists. He hit four three-pointers and was seven-of-eight from the free-throw line.
 
LJ McIntosh hit four three-pointers and finished with 15 points. Dominique Dobbs had his seven double-double of the season with 13 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. Rayko Dundalov led the bench scoring with seven points.
 
Lindenwood improves to 9-2 on the season. The Lions return to conference action on Saturday afternoon with a 3:30 p.m. game against Missouri Southern.