For the second straight game, an upset bid was thwarted late as the Pioneers fell to #10 Lindenwood on Thursday. Like in Thursday's loss at Evangel, freshman
Conner Langrehr came out of the gate on fire. He scored 11 points in the first 9 minutes and had 16 first-half points as MNU built a 9-point lead.
The Pioneers maintained a 7-point lead with less than 8 minutes to go in the game when Lindenwood took control. A 10-2 run gave the Lions the lead with 6 minutes remaining, and the Pioneers went cold and were unable to reel Lindenwood back in. A crucial moment occurred with the Pioneers down 5 with just over a minute remaining. MNU seemed to get the stop they needed with a blocked shot, but the found found its way to the hands on Lindenwood's Brandon Kunkel. Kunkel buried a long 3 to put the game out of reach, and the Lions hit late free throws to win 86-74.
Conner Langrehr led the Pioneers with 22 points.
Rustin Dowd had 17 points and 9 assists.
Luke Thomas had 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals off the bench.
Keith McCullough added 10 points and 5 rebounds. And
Andrew Crotty had 10 rebounds and 3 assists.
The Pioneers are 12-16 (7-11 HAAC). The next game is Senior Night--Thursday the 24th at home vs. Baker at 7:30.
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