ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Lindenwood men's basketball (10-13, 5-7 OVC) suffered a 76-70 loss to the Eastern Illinois Panthers (8-15, 4-8 OVC) on Saturday afternoon at a packed Hyland Arena. LU celebrated their Coaches vs. Cancer game against EIU. The loss was only their third loss at Hyland this year and drops the Lions back to three games below .500 with eight games remaining in the regular season.  

Markeith Browning II led the Lions in points and time on the floor against the Panthers. His 27 points set new career and season high and was also the fifth time he's eclipsed 20 points this year. Browning II also posted seven rebounds in his 36 minutes of action Saturday afternoon.  

Reggie Bass scored 14 points against the EIU while dishing out five assists and picking up two steals. Anias Futrell added 12 points of his own as well as nine boards marking the second straight game he fell one rebound shy of a double-double. Freshman Jadis Jones was the fourth Lion in double figures as he picked up 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists.  

As a team, the Lions went 24-63 (38.1%) from the field but just 4-17 (23.5%) from deep, their third lowest mark this season. The Lions defense was unable to keep the EIU bench quiet as they scored 40 points to the Lions' five.   

The first six minutes of play saw action on both ends of the court. Layups by Bass, Jones, and Browning II gave Lindenwood an early six points, but the Panthers still led by one at the first media timeout. A 5-0 EIU run at 15:28 put EIU up 10-6 until Browning II broke the streak with a driving layup two minutes later. The Panthers continued to apply the pressure, reeling off a 10-0 run to make it 22-11.

The Lions pulled within four with 5:30 to go in the half thanks to a three from Bass and a pair of buckets from Futrell and Jordan Wildy. Four points from Browning II in the final four minutes gave him eleven points in the half and tightened the score to 28-24 in favor of EIU. Browning II added five more points before the half ended giving him 16 for the game. The Lions went 12-33 (36.4%) from the field and 3-11 (27.3%) from deep but found themselves trailing 32-29 heading into the locker room.  

Lindenwood reclaimed the lead for the first time since the 15:52 mark of the first half when Bass hit a jumper to put the Lions up 33-32. Bass' bucket was part of seven straight points by the Lions that saw them extend their lead to 36-32, LU's largest lead of the game to this point. EIU scored five quick points of their own to retake the lead at 14:53, but the game was soon tied again 42-42 after Browning II hit a three giving him 21 points.  

The next five minutes saw five lead changes and four ties, but EIU held a 61-57 lead with 4:58 to go. A 5-0 Panther run stretched their lead to 72-64 and put the game on ice as LU suffered their seventh OVC loss of the season.

The Lions now head out on the road to face the UT Martin Skyhawks in Martin, Tenn. next Thursday, February 6th. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. For more information, go to lindenwoodlions.com.