The seventh-seeded Lindenwood men's basketball team (16-16, 9-10 MIAA) saw its season come to a close on Wednesday afternoon during the first round of the 2019 MIAA Championship Tournament. Despite having five players reach double-digit scoring totals, the Lions suffered a 76-75 loss to Southwest Baptist from Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

GAME OVERVIEW
Southwest Baptist got off to a strong start in the first half, taking a 15-8 lead over Lindenwood during the first 4:41 of play. The Lions responded with a 14-3 run over the next 4:23, capped off by a TJ Crockett made three-pointer, to take a 22-18 lead.

The back-and-forth action continued throughout the first half, with neither team establishing a lead greater than five points for the duration of the period. Lindenwood was whistled for goaltending on a Southwest Baptist layup as time expired in the first half, sending the Bearcats into intermission with a 39-37 lead.

In the second half Southwest Baptist grew its lead to a 50-43 margin with just over 15 minutes remaining in the game.

Chris King answered back immediately for Lindenwood, connecting on a layup to trim the Bearcat lead to five points. King's layup sparked the Lions on a 17-4 run over the next 6:11 of play, helping Lindenwood establish its largest lead of the game at 60-54 with a little over nine minutes showing on the clock.

Southwest Baptist would go on to cut the Lindenwood lead down to a single possession shortly thereafter. The two teams traded buckets on each end of the court for the final seven minutes of play, with neither team managing a lead above four points.
Lindenwood trailed 76-72 with just 10 seconds remaining in the game. Diego Crockett knocked down his second triple of the afternoon, cutting the deficit to just one point.

The Lions forced a missed layup from the Bearcats with four seconds left, and came streaking down the court to throw up a desperation shot at the buzzer, but it fell just short, hitting off the front of the rim.  Southwest Baptist outlasted Lindenwood by a single point, 76-75.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Brad Newman led Lindenwood in scoring with 16 points (5-of-10 FG, 6-of-7 FT).
- For Newman it was the 18th time this season in which he led the team in scoring.
- Womack had a 14-point effort (6-of-9 FG, 2-of-3 3PFG), his 16th game this season with at least 10 points.
- Crockett and King added significant scoring off the bench for the Lions. King went for 13 points (6-of-10 FG), while Crockett totaled 10 points (3-of-5 FG, 2-of-3 3PFG).
- Chandler Diekvoss also added 10 points (5-of-10 FG) and secured six boards.
- Drew Moore led the team with seven rebounds.
- As a team, Lindenwood controlled the glass, holding a 30-23 edge in rebounding.
- The Lions shot 50.8 percent for the game (30-of-59).

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Lance Randall
"I thought today's game was a great battle between two teams trying to keep their seasons alive in a must-win game," said Randall. "Southwest Baptist shot exceptionally well today, but I thought we played with a pretty good pace and brought the energy on our end as well. This has been a great group of guys to coach. Our senior class is made up of five phenomenal individuals who represent this University in a first-class manner. I would have liked for them to have more in this tournament, and we almost did, but Southwest Baptist was a strong opponent today."