The Lindenwood men's basketball team lost another defensive battle on Wednesday night in Hyland Arena. Central Missouri hit two free throws with 7.9 seconds remaining to defeat the Lions by a 59-58 score.

The Lions trailed by ten at halftime, but roared back in the second half. Lindenwood's defense, which allowed the Mules to shoot over 60 percent in the first half, held them to just 27.3 percent shooting in the second half. That, combined with the hot shooting of Cory Arentsen, helped Lindenwood go on a 28-9 run which gave the team a 51-44 lead with eight minutes remaining.

Central Missouri cut the lead to two at the 4:59 mark, but a layup by Chandler Diekvoss and a three-pointer by Brad Newman extended Lindenwood's lead back to seven. That would be the final points for Lindenwood as the Mules won the final minute of the game at the free-throw line. The Lions missed the front end of two one-and-ones, and Central Missouri made three-of-four free throws in the final 24 seconds. The final two free throws by the Mules came with eight seconds left, and the Lions final shot at the buzzer was off the mark.

Lindenwood finished the game shooting 40.4 percent, compared to 44.4 percent for Central Missouri. Lindenwood hit three more three-pointers, but the Mules collected 10 more points at the free-throw line.

Arentsen finished with a game-high 35 points. He scored 22 in the first 14 minutes of the second half, including making nine-of-ten shots from the field. Brad Newman finished with 14 points, and he and Chandler Diekvoss led the team with three assists. Arentsen led the team with seven rebounds, and Zachary Biggs had six.

Lindenwood falls to 15-12 on the season and 11-10 in MIAA play. The Lions end the regular season on Saturday with a road game at Lincoln.