GAME OVERVIEW
The Lindenwood men's basketball team (7-5, 1-1 MIAA) suffered its first MIAA loss of the season on Saturday afternoon at the hands of No. 2 Northwest Missouri. The Lions were defeated, 87-53 by the second-ranked Bearcats from Maryville, Mo.
 
Northwest Missouri got out front early, carrying a 17-9 lead past the halfway point of the opening frame. 
 
Coming out of the half's second media timeout, Lindenwood went on an 8-2 run, sparked by a three-pointer from Chris King to get within two points of the home team. King accounted for five points during the stretch, and the Lions hit all three of their field goal attempts during the 2:03 span, including two from three-point range.
 
However, Northwest Missouri responded by scoring 19 of the next 27 points before the end of the half, and took a 38-25 lead into halftime.
 
The Bearcats maintained their double-digit lead for the entirety of the second half, and eventually prevailed by the final score of 87-53.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- King led all Lindenwood scorers with 15 points (4-of-9 FG, 2-of-6 3PFG).
- King was perfect from the charity stripe, knocking down all five of his free throws.
- Brad Newman was Lindenwood's only other scorer to reach double-digits, ending the afternoon with 13 points (5-of-11 FG).
- Lindenwood shot 39.6 percent from the field (19-of-48), as opposed to 55.2 percent (32-of-58) for Northwest Missouri.
- The Lions lost the rebounding battle, 33-26.
- Northwest Missouri dominated the paint, outscoring Lindenwood 40-18 down low.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Lance Randall
"We defended the majority of the first half, but made some simple mistakes in the last couple of minutes, and the made us pay for everyone of them," said Randall. "We have to be more disciplined to win on the road against great teams. We can not turn the ball over 14 times in one half and expect to beat the number two ranked team in the country."
 
UP NEXT
Lindenwood will conclude its four-game road trip on Dec. 15 from Lakeland, Fla. The Lions will face No. 15 Florida Southern at 5:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. CT).