Kansas City, Mo. – Wednesday marked the first time since 2012 that the men's basketball team played in Kansas City for the MIAA tournament. Their win on Wednesday marked the first time since 2006 that the men's basketball team won in the MIAA tournament. Also, the Bearcats became the first 10 seed to win an MIAA Championship game. The #10 seeded Bearcats took on the #7 seeded Lindenwood Lions, defeating them 76-75. The teams faced off twice in the regular season, SBU taking game one and Lindenwood taking game two just four days prior.
 
Lindenwood was able to draw first blood, scoring a layup on their first possession. It was Maris Colton getting things going for SBU, scoring on a layup with the assist coming from Chris Rossow. Karim Mouliom and Quinn Nelson then hit back to back three pointers, boosting SBU to an 8-4 lead. A little bit later, it was Godfrey Rolle also making a three. With 15:19 to go, Chris Rossow nailed a jumper to give SBU a 15-8 lead. The Lions responded, taking over 17-15. That didn't last long as Andy Campbell scored one from downtown to regain the lead. Halfway through the 1^st half the score was tied at 22 each.
 
At the 8:37 mark, Godfrey Rolle and Chris Rossow made back to back three's to regain a 6 point lead. The score was tied up again with just over 5 minutes to go. Andy Campbell made another three pointer, and Karim Mouliom made a free throw, giving SBU a 4 point lead. The Lions scored a layup with 60 seconds to go in the half, tying things up at 37-37. With just 4 seconds on the clock, Chris Rossow drove the length of the court and put up a layup that was called goaltending, giving SBU the points. The Bearcats led 39-37 at the half.
 
Quinn Nelson's hot hand got things going for the Bearcats in the second half, scoring a three just 9 seconds into the half. Then it was Chris Rossow scoring on back to back possessions to help SBU maintain the lead. With 15:19 remaining, Quinn Nelson completed the rare 4-point play. He was fouled as he made a three, sending him to the free throw line where he made his one attempt. That play put SBU up by 7, their largest lead since early in the first half. Lindenwood roared back, tying things up and taking the lead shortly after.
 
With 9:06 to go, Lindenwood stretched their lead to 6 points. Godfrey Rolle then made a couple of layups, followed by a jumper to make the score 58-60 in favor of the Lions. About 30 seconds later, Rolle was fouled while attempting a three, sending him to the line for 3 free throw attempts. He drained all three, tying things up at 61 each. He then continued his scoring streak, making a layup and a jumper back to back. The teams traded leads late in the second half, SBU trailing 69-70 with 2:03 to go. Karim Mouliom made a huge jumper to put SBU up 1, then nailed a big time three with just over a minute to go, pushing the Bearcat lead to 74-70. The Lions made two free throws to get within two, but it was Rolle again, making sure the lead stayed with SBU. Lindenwood hit a three with 10 seconds left to get within 76-75, but they were unable to score again, giving the Bearcats their first victory in the MIAA tournament since 2006.
 
Godfrey Rolle led the Bearcats, shooting 7-11 from the field and 6-7 from the free throw line, scoring 22 points. Karim Mouliom also had 15 points, along with 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. Quinn Nelson made 3 three pointers, scoring 14 on the day, and Chris Rossow also added 13 points and 5 assists.
 
The Bearcats will face the #2 seeded Washburn Ichabods on Thursday, March 7 with tipoff scheduled for 2:15 PM.