Men's rugby battled Davenport and the elements to grind out a 31-10 victory Saturday evening in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  The Lions faced winds gusting upwards of 40 miles per hour, cold temperatures, and a stinging rain in the final Mid-South Conference game of the season. 
 
Lindenwood incorporated eight different roster changes from the previous week, and the result was an inconsistent effort.  Five different players still crossed the try line for the Lions, who looked like a top-five team at times, but also demonstrated some lack of intensity and distraction from the weather. 
 
Lindenwood started the match with a high level of energy and attitude and it showed in the first five minutes.  The team put more than 10 phases together, resulting in great pressure on the Panthers, despite facing a strong wind.  However, Davenport responded with some unexpected vigor, despite forfeiting their previous game.  The Lions might have been a bit overconfident, and an unwillingness to jump on loose balls led to multiple scoring opportunities for Davenport.  The Panthers capitalized with a converted try and penalty kick in the first 10 minutes to take a 10-0 lead. 
 
Lindenwood continued to play inconsistently, displaying tough defense that created space at times, but also mishandling the ball and taking bad penalties.  This kept the Lions off the scoreboard for most of the first half. 


Scrums were the highlight of the day as Lindenwood consistently put pressure through props Chance Wenglewski and Joe Stewart. The Lions were very disruptive and eventually, eight man Wesley White attacked off the strong platform provided by his tight five and scored directly off a scrum, pulling Lindenwood to a 10-5 deficit at the break.   
 
The Lions had the advantage of the wind at their backs in the second half, but more inconsistent play and handling errors kept the action in the middle of the field at first.  Lindenwood started to produce more positive movement than negative, and strong carrying from the second-row tandem of Jack Huckstepp and Jimmy Lillis kept the Lions pushing forward.  Some dynamic running from center Juan Pablo Aguirre and fullback Connor Burns earned Lindenwood a foothold in the offensive end of the field.
 
The weather cleared at the 57^th minute, the Lions settled in, and the offense began to click.  In the next 10 minutes, Aguirre, Jack Huckstepp, and reserve center Alex Augspurg each scored.  Andreas Livadaras converted all three and Lindenwood felt much more comfortable with a 26-10 lead.
 
Davenport did drive into the Lions end of the pitch once more, but smart defensive play from reserve scrumhalf Jack Desmond kept the Panthers out of the try zone.  Strong carrying and defensive work from reserve flanker Colten Hernandez moved Lindenwood in the right direction and a beautiful piece of handling from the Lions backs put Connor Burns over for the final Lions points of the day. 
 
With the victory, Lindenwood concluded conference play with a record of 6-2 and improved to 15-2 overall.  The Lions await the announcement of their first playoff opponent, most likely the winner of the Red River Conference in a match on April 14.  In the meantime, the men's rugby squad will remain active with St. Louis Ruggerfest on April 7 and the Bremer Bucks 7's Tournament April 13.