The Lindenwood men's basketball team celebrated the five members of its 2018-19 senior class on Saturday afternoon with an 82-68 victory over Southwest Baptist from Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo. The Lions closed out their regular season schedule by winning five of their final six games to lock up the seventh seed in next week's MIAA Tournament.

GAME OVERVIEW
Lindenwood opened the game on a 12-5 run over the first 5:15 of play, capped off by a Chandler Diekvoss fast break-layup. Nearly three minutes later, Southwest Baptist had trimmed the Lindenwood lead to a 14-11 margin. Brad Newman put home a layup with 10:49 remaining in the half to bring the Lions' lead to 16-11. Newman's layup sparked Lindenwood on a 16-0 run over the next 4:33 of play, giving the Lions a dominant 30-11 edge. During its game-changing run, Lindenwood was 7-of-9 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range. Newman accounted for seven of the team's 16 points, while TJ Crockett added four points during the stretch.

Lindenwood entered halftime shooting 60.7 percent from the field (17-of-28), and held a 37-26 lead over Southwest Baptist.

The Lions continued their strong play throughout the second half, leading by at least double-digits for the final 15:14 of play. Lindenwood's lead peaked at a game-high 23-point margin following a Diego Womack jumper inside the paint that moved the score to 71-48 in favor of the home team.

In the end, Lindenwood picked up the 82-68 victory over Southwest Baptist.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Newman led all scorers in the game with 23 points (9-of-17 FG), his 16th game this season with at least 20 points scored.
- Newman connected on 3-of-6 from three-point territory, his 10th game this season with at least three makes from behind the arc.
- Diekvoss totaled 14 points (3-of-3 FG, 8-of-9 FT) and secured a team-leading seven rebounds.
- Crockett (4-of-5 FG), Womack (5-of-7 FG), and Drew Moore (4-of-8 FG) all finished the game with 10-point performances.
- Chris King narrowly missed giving Lindenwood six scorers in double figures, as he ended the game with nine points (3-of-3 FG)
- Adam Pohlman dished out a team-high six assists.
- As a team, Lindenwood shot 62.0 percent from the field (31-of-50), its second-best single-game shooting performance of the season.
- The Lions dominated the paint, outscoring the Bearcats by a 46-18 margin down low.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Lance Randall
"Today was a great team win, but it was extra special because our seniors were outstanding," said Randall. "Adam, Brad, Brian, Chandler, and Drew is as good of a group of seniors, all outstanding people and great basketball players, that I've ever coached. It's a real tribute to them on how many loved ones they all had in the stands today. It has been my honor to coach them, and I'm looking forward to one great run next week with this group."

UP NEXT
Lindenwood will enter next week's MIAA Tournament as the seventh seed and will face the tenth-seeded Southwest Baptist Bearcats in its first-round matchup. Lindenwood and Southwest Baptist will play at 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6 from the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.