The Lindenwood men's basketball fought back after a slow offensive start on Thursday night at Hyland Arena, but it couldn't complete the comeback in an 89-79 conference loss to Missouri Southern.
 
Missouri Southern went on a 20-0 run early in the game to grab a 17-point lead. Lindenwood spent the rest of the game digging out of that hole. A big offensive outburst in the second half got Lindenwood within three points on two occasions in the final five minutes. After the second time, Missouri Southern was fouled on a three-point play, which sparked a 5-0 run and helped the visitors pull away for the victory.
 
After shooting just 32.1 percent in the first half, Lindenwood shot 62.1 percent in the second half, including six-of-10 from three-point range. That helped the team score 59 points for the final 20 minutes of play. Missouri Southern was too much offensive though, as it shot 55.3 percent for the game. It also went to the free-throw line 32 times, 12 more than Lindenwood, and it converted 27 of those into points.
 
Lindenwood was led by Brad Newman with 22 points and Jackson Price with 20. That pair made all eight of Lindenwood's three-pointers in the game. Dominique Dobbs finished with 14 points and a team-high six rebounds, and Chandler Diekvoss had 17 points and five rebounds. Adam Pohlman led the team with three assists.
 
Lindenwood falls to 11-5 overall and 3-4 in conference play. The Lions look to return to the win column on Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. game at Hyland Arena versus Pittsburg State.