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Sports

Lions Fall to Mountain State, 84-67; Close Out Season With School Record 29 Wins, First Tournament Victory

Lindenwood University comes up short in second round, but make school's first NAIA Division I tournament

KANSAS CITY - The most successful season in the history of Lindenwood University basketball came to an end Friday.

The Lions dropped an 84-67 decision to third-seeded Mountain State University in the second round of the NAIA Division I National Tournament at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City.

Lindenwood ends the campaign with a 29-6 mark. The 29 wins is the most in school history.

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Mountain State (31-3) advances to quarterfinal round play Saturday.

Juniors Kramer Soderberg and Brett Thompson led Lindenwood with 14 points apiece. Sophomore Alex Bazzell added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman Michael Boos had 11 points.

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Doug Wiggins paced Mountain State, located in Beckley, WV, with 24 points. Tay Spann added 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

Lindenwood was making its first appearance in the Division I Tournament. The Lions recorded their first ever tournament win Wednesday with a 78-72 win over St. Catharine University in the opening round of the 32-team affair.

The Lions battled back from a slow start on Friday to tie the game 45-45 on a pair of free throws by freshman Garrett Reeg with 13:34 left. But the Cougars responded by scoring 15 of the next 17 points to take control 60-47.

Lindenwood began the game slowly and never fully recovered. The Lions missed their first 11 shots allowing Mountain State to take an 11-0 lead. Bazzell broke the drought by sinking a three-pointer with 13:29 left in the opening half.

The Lions used a 17-9 run over the first six minutes of the second half to erase a 36-28 deficit. Senior Alfred Nelson brought Lindenwood to within 48-47 on a short jumper with 11:38 remaining. But Mountain State reeled off the next 12 points to go up by 13. The Cougars, who have led from start to finish in both tournament games, scored eight points in a span of 43 seconds.

Mountain State, a traditional NAIA power, has made the tournament field every year since 1999.

Lindenwood turned in one of its worst shooting performances of year missing a season-high 27 three-pointers in 39 attempts. The Lions were 24-of-76 (32 percent) from the field.

"I know that we had stretch were we had good looks at threes and we missed them and that is one of our strengths," said Lindenwood coach Brad Soderberg. "We needed to hit those and we didn't and things like that just happen."

He added, "When Kramer got in foul trouble that hurt us. When he got his fourth we needed him out there so that was tough."

"I'm real disappointed," said the Lindenwood coach. "I don't mind losing when we play our best. But we just didn't play good basketball."

The Lions graduate three seniors - Nelson, Richard Rose and David King - from their 14-player roster.

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