ST. CHARLES, MO. -- After falling in overtime in its first two forays into MIAA basketball, the Lindenwood University men's team finally picked up its first conference win on Saturday, with a convincing 96-82 victory at the Hyland Arena over visiting Truman State.
The Lions, who have now won four straight games dating back to mid-December, are now 8-3 on the season and 1-2 in league play, but remain one of the highest scoring teams in the country with an 84.4 points per game average.
On Saturday, LU topped even that figure, thanks to a brilliant shooting and passing performance that allowed the Lions to shoot 55.9 percent for the game, including 50 percent (nine-for-18) on three-pointers, to go along with 22 assists on 33 made baskets.
Lindenwood also connected on 21-25 free throws and dominated on the boards -- 41 rebounds to 22-- which prevented almost any chance of a Truman State comeback.
Senior guard Alex Bazzell was the leader for the Lions, with a game-high 22 points and 11 assists, while center Brett Thompson and forward Richie Thompson each had 18 points as well.
The key stretch in the game came near the midway point of the first half, when LU reeled off a 19-6 run to go up 28-19 on the Bulldogs.
Lindenwood stretched its lead to 14 points at halftime, and was able to simply cruise in the second half with a double-digit lead that lasted the entire final 20 minutes of the game.
Native St. Louisan Seth Jackson, a high school star at CBC, had 20 points to lead Truman, which fell to 5-7 overall and 2-2 in MIAA play this season.
LU will be back in action on Thursday, January 10, when the Lions will host Missouri Southern in another MIAA game at the Hyland Arena.
Tip off that night is set for 7:30 p.m., and will be broadcast via pay-per-view on the America One Sports Network, with the radio call of the game available through the school's student-run radio station, 89.1 The Wood, or online at www.891thewood.com.
SCORING SUMMARY
Score by Half ............. 1 ... 2 -- Final Score
Truman State ............ 35 . 47 -- 82
Lindenwood .............. 49 . 47 -- 96
Individual Scorers
Truman State -- Seth Jackson 20, Mike Carlson 17, Cory Myers 14, Tom Norton 13, Cole Myers 5, Jaylon Jones 5, Matt Patterson 3, Isaac Gardner 3, Marek Bush 2.
Lindenwood -- Alex Bazzell 22, Brett Thompson 18, Richie Thompson 18, Efkan Eren 9, Tyler Ressel 9, Cody Sorenson 8, Aaron Ramirez 8, Darris Smith 4.
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