St. Charles, Mo. – In a game that took two overtime periods, the Lions of Lindenwood made a last second layup to defeat the Bearcats, 91-90. The loss ends SBU's five-game winning streak and puts them at 11-3 on the year.
Both teams were on fire offensively in the first half, neither team missing many shots.
Joe Miller gave SBU an 11-9 lead with 15:49 on the clock, but the Lions quickly tied it up. Lindenwood took over and built a three-point lead a few minutes later, but SBU went on a 9-0 run to make it a 26-20 game. In that run,
Quinn Nelson scored 6 points on two layups and a couple of free throws. The teams went back and forth as halftime drew near, and Nelson scored four more to give the Bearcats a 41-39 edge over the Lions heading into the break.
The home team quickly evened the score to open the second half, but
Brady Smith scored back-to-back buckets to regain the lead and build it to four. Battling back and forth, the teams exchanged leads multiple times. Lindenwood built their lead to 5 with 4:28 to go, but SBU wasn't done fighting.
Quinn Nelson scored 7 straight for SBU, erasing that deficit and giving SBU a 63-62 lead.
Joe Miller and
Brady Smith helped SBU to a 67-64 lead with time winding down, but the conference's leading scorer and the nation's second leading scorer nailed a three to tie things up and send it into overtime.
Brady Smith scored the first points of overtime, but Lindenwood responded with a three. In response,
Mitch Ganote scored a layup and
Juan Morales made two free throws, but another three was made by the Lions to even the score. The Bearcats had a 3 point lead late in the first overtime, but another big three by LWU sent the game into a second overtime.
Mitch Ganote score three quick baskets to give the Bearcats a 6 point lead, but that was quickly erased by the Lions. With just over a minute left,
Quinn Nelson was fouled after scoring a bucket, completing the three-point play. Lindenwood made a jumper with 59 seconds left, and another with 1 second on the clock, giving them the 91-90 victory.
Only two double-doubles have been recorded by the Bearcats this year, both by
Mitch Ganote. Against the Lions, Ganote scored 20 points on 10-15 shooting, grabbed 10 boards, and had 4 assists.
Quinn Nelson led SBU in scoring with 26 points, making 11-13 free throws. The game featured 19 lead changes and 20 tied scores.
The Bearcats will get a bit of a break after playing 5 games in 10 days. Missouri-St. Louis will visit Bolivar on Thursday, February 4 for the second matchup of the year between the teams. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 7 PM.
