Men's bowling earned the top seed while the ladies advanced to the semifinals at the McK Baker Challenge February 4-5 in Fairview Heights, Illinois.

In a high scoring, all-baker environment that included 24 games on Saturday, the Lions were on the shorter side of the standings to begin with, but after sets of 851 and 829, Lindenwood climbed to fifth place, just 159 out of first at the midway point of the day. The Lions continued to bowl well from there, finishing with sets of 794, 850, and 890, including high games of 255 and 252. With a grand total of 4,969, Lindenwood sat in fourth place after Saturday, just 164-pins behind Newman in first.

The Lions started much better on Sunday in a 16-game block, firing a set of 823 out of the gate. They followed with their high set of the day, an 881 that included games of 260 and 245, before finishing with 827 and 826. With a grand total of 8,326 (208.15 average), Lindenwood climbed all the way to first place, edging Webber International by 45-pins in second and Newman University by 57-pins in third.

As the top seed, Lindenwood faced off against No. 8 seed Illinois State in the quarterfinals of best-of-three baker bracket play. The Lions made quick work of the Redbirds, sweeping them in two straight. After grinding out a 193-183 victory in the opening game, Lindenwood used an early five-bagger to pull away and take game two 224-152 to advance to the semifinals against No. 5 seed Midland.

That match required all three games to determine a winner, but the opening contest did not show the scoring that was to come. The Lions suffered through four splits, but still had a chance for victory in the 10^th frame, but came up a bit short in a 184-172 loss. Both the Warriors and Lions found their groove in game two. After a slow start, Lindenwood used a streak of six strikes in seven shots to fend off Midland 221-207 to even the match and force a deciding game three. The Lions started with four strikes in a row, but the Warriors did not back down. Lindenwood held a lead at the midway point of the game, but two critical open frames down the stretch turned the tide, resulting in a 237-222 loss and elimination from the bracket.

In the women's event, the Lady Lions struggled to string good games together to begin the day and therefore found themselves in the bottom half of the pack after the first two sets, but they started putting things together over the course of the next 12 games with sets of 772, 744, and a high of 820, including high games of 236 and 231. That moved them up to fourth place, but Lindenwood was only 128-pins out of first, 64-pins out of second, and 38-pins behind third. Now in position to make a move towards the top, unfortunately, the Lady Lions went the other direction, struggling through the final set of the day to finish with a Saturday total of 4,445 and fifth place heading into Sunday.

Lindenwood dug an even deeper hole to start the second day of competition, only managing to break the 180 mark twice in the first eight games, but the lights came on for set three with the Lady Lions shooting their high baker game of the season at 256 and high set of the tournament at 831. Lindenwood couldn't keep that momentum going for the final set, but still finished with a grand total of 7,310 (182.75 average) and the No. 5 seed for match play.

In the quarterfinals, the Lady Lions faced No. 4 seed Midland and started the first game with four straight strikes to take a comfortable lead, but three opens in the next four frames allowed the Warriors to get back in the contest. Some clutch shots in the final two frames righted the ship and ultimately gave Lindenwood a 191-178 victory. The Lady Lions were just as hot to begin the second game as they started with six straight strikes. The quick start overwhelmed Midland and the game and match was over quickly with a 219-139 win.

In the semifinals, the Lady Lions faced top seed McKendree. Carrying some of the momentum from the previous match, Lindenwood battled the Bearcats in game one and pulled out a solid 197-188 victory. After the teams traded lanes, momentum changed in the favor of McKendree. The Lady Lions threw several good shots, but it didn't translate to a high score as they fell by a final of 218-185. In the deciding third game, Lindenwood lost its look and fell behind early, made quick adjustments, but couldn't get back in the game, ultimately falling 191-153.

Men's and women's bowling wraps up the regular season at the 54^th Annual Hoosier Classic February 18-19 in Indianapolis, Indiana.