The Lindenwood men's basketball team lost to the Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars, 95-88, on Saturday afternoon. The team's record falls to 8-10 with a 2-8 notch in the GLVC, and the Lions have now dropped seven games in a row.

GAME OVERVIEW
The Lions held a slim, 42-41 lead going into halftime, after the team shot 48.3 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from the three-point line. Lindenwood matched Illinois Springfield on the boards with 15 total rebounds, 13 of which came on the defensive end. There were six total lead changes in the first half, as the Lions led for nine minutes to the Prairie Stars' seven and a half minutes. The biggest lead for either team was seven points, when Lindenwood held on to a 13-6 lead early in the game.

The Prairie Stars jumped out early in the second half, gaining a 47-42 lead after a 6-0 run in the first two and a half minutes. Lindenwood would be unable to recapture the lead, after shooting 40.5 percent from the field and getting outscored, 54-46. The team was outrebounded 24-13 in the second half, and never led past the initial 42-41 score at the beginning of the half. The Lions were able to prevent a large amount of offensive turnovers, finishing with two in the second half, and seven total for the game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Vijay Blackmon led the team with 31 points, for his seventh game of the season with 20 or more points.
• TJ Crockett and Luka Radosevic both chipped in offensively, finishing with 18 and 16, respectively.
• Radosevic finished with a career-high tying nine rebounds, which set a new best for this season for the senior forward.
• Sukhman Bhinder and Crockett both finished the game with a team-high three assists. It marks the ninth game this season for Bhinder that he has led the team in assists.
• Crockett set a new career-high for blocks in a game with three. He now has 18 blocks on the season.
• Bhinder also added two steals for the Lions, finishing with two-thirds of the team's steals for the game.

QUOTEABLE
"I liked a lot of things that we did tonight, especially on the offensive side of the ball," said Head Coach Kyle Gerdeman. "It was good to see three guys get into double figures, score 88 points, and play at a fast pace. We were in the game the whole time, and that is a credit to our guys' attitudes right now. We just have to come back to practice on Monday and get ready for another week."

UP NEXT
Lindenwood returns home to the friendly confines of Hyland Arena where the team is 6-3 this season. The Lions will square off against McKendree University on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m.