The Lindenwood men's basketball team won its fourth straight game on Saturday afternoon in Warrensburg, Mo. The Lions earned their first victory in the Multipurpose Building with a 59-51 victory over Central Missouri.
 
The difference was the first 14 minutes of the contest in which the Lions played their best defense of the season. Central Missouri connected on just two of its first 14 field goal attempts, and also turned the ball over seven times in that span.
 
Lindenwood started slow offensively as well, leading just 9-6 around the midway mark of the half. The Lions offense went on a 13-0 run though to build a 16-point lead. Lindenwood started the run with four field goals in the paint, and LJ McIntosh capped the spurt with five straight points, including a three-pointer that put the Lions up 22-6 with 5:36 left in the half.
 
The Mules came into the game in second place in the MIAA and they would not go down quietly on their home court. They were able to cut the lead to 27-17 by halftime, and continued to inch closer to Lindenwood early in the second half.
 
With the lead cut to four at 33-29, Jackson Price connected on a big three-pointer, which sparked a 10-1 Lindenwood run. The other points in that spurt came from bench players, as Rayko Dundalov had four points and Zac Haese hit a three-pointer.
 
Lindenwood was able to hold the Mules off the rest of the way, including making nine-of-10 free throws in the final 73 seconds.
 
The 51 points allowed by Lindenwood tied for the second-fewest it has allowed this season, and its best defensive effort in 2016-17 in a MIAA contest. The Mules shot just 38.3 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three-point range, and they had 12 turnovers. Lindenwood had eight more rebounds and finished the game shooting 43.5 percent from the field, including 50 percent in the first half when it built its lead.
 
Chandler Diekvoss was the leading scorer for both teams with 18 points. Jackson Price had 13 points, followed by LJ McIntosh with nine, and Bakari Triggs with eight. Dominique Dobbs had a team-high seven rebounds. The team's defensive effort was led by guards McIntosh, Price, and Adam Pohlman, all of whom had 32 or more minutes of playing time.
 
With the victory, Lindenwood won its 20th game of the season, the first 20-win season for the program since joining the NCAA. The Lions are now 20-10 overall and 9-8 in the MIAA. Lindenwood faces No. 1 Northwest Missouri next Thursday night in Maryville, Mo.