Postgame Press Conference

The Lindenwood men's basketball team turned up its defensive pressure in the second half which helped the squad earn a MIAA victory on Saturday afternoon in Hyland Arena. The Lions defeated Fort Hays State by a 69-63 margin.
 
The Lions came out of the gates slow again, and they trailed 24-15 with four minutes remaining in the first half. Lindenwood heated up though and went on a 10-0 run to take the lead. Drew Moore sparked the spurt with five points, including two layups. The Tigers quickly retook the lead on a three-pointer, but Chandler Diekvoss scored in the final seconds of the half to make the score 27-27 at halftime.
 
The story of the second half was Lindenwood's defense. The Lions allowed just 10 points for the first 14:50 of the period. Lindenwood held the Tigers to just three-of-14 shooting in that span, and it forced four turnovers. The two biggest turnovers came around midcourt within 23 seconds of each other early in the half. Both turnovers turned into uncontested layups on the other end, and the Lions never trailed again. They eventually led 54-37 with six minutes remaining, before the Tigers made a late run to cut the final deficit to six points.
 
Lindenwood kept Fort Hays State to just 41.1 percent shooting from the field for the game, and eight-of-26 shooting from three-pointer range. In the second half, the Tigers made just 37.5 percent of their shots, including five-of-17 from beyond the arc. Lindenwood shot over 50 percent for the game, including 59.1 percent in the second half. The Lions also made 16-of-18 from the free-throw line.
 
Lindenwood's defense was led statistically by three steals from Adam Pohlman, four blocks from Dominique Dobbs, and six rebounds from Diekvoss. Offensively, the Lions had a balanced effort with Diekvoss finishing with a team-high 18 points, including 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Jackson Price hit three three-pointers and finished with 15 points. Pohlman had 14 points and four assists, and Dobbs ended the game with 10 points on five-of-seven shooting.
 
Lindenwood improves to 14-7 on the season and 6-6 in MIAA play. The Lions will return to action next Thursday when they start a two-game road swing with a trip to Missouri Western.