The Lindenwood men's basketball team moved to 2-0 on the season after winning its second contest at the MIAA/NSIC Classic in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. The Lions defeated Minnesota Duluth on Saturday afternoon by a 78-72 score.
 
Lindenwood trailed just once early in the contest, but still needed a strong finish to hold on to the victory. The Lions won the game at the free-throw line, where they hit 24-of-26 shots, including four in the final minute.
 
The first half was close throughout. Minnesota Duluth had an early 10-9 lead, but the Lions scored six straight points and never trailed again. The Lions led by 10 with 1:51 left, but a late 7-0 run by the Bulldogs made the score 41-38 at halftime in favor of Lindenwood.
 
Minnesota Duluth was able to tie the game three times in the second half, but each time the Lions answered right away to retake the lead. The final tie came at 65 with just over five minutes left in the game. Brenon Larson-Gulsvig hit a three-pointer on the next possession to give Lindenwood the lead, and that shot sparked a 7-0 run.
 
The Bulldogs got within two at 72-70, but Dominique Dobbs took over the game in the final minute. He hit two free throws with 56 seconds left to put the Lions up four. After Minnesota Duluth also hit two free throws, Dobbs made a layup late in the shot clock for a 76-72 lead. The Bulldogs missed a three-pointer after that, and LJ McIntosh closed the game out with two free throws.
 
Lindenwood shot 57.1 percent in the first half and ended the game with 45.8 shooting from the field. It hit 10 three-pointers in the game, and made all 14 free throws it attempted in the final half. Minnesota Duluth shot 45.9 percent for the game from the field. The Bulldogs made seven three-pointers and shot just 30.4 percent from long distance. They did not miss a free throw, but attempted just nine.
 
Larson-Gulsvig led Lindenwood with 22 points and four assists. He was seven-of-11 from the field, including five-of-nine from three-pointer range. Chandler Diekvoss had 14 points, and McIntosh finished with 12. Adam Pohlman added nine points, and Dobbs and Rayko Dundalov both had eight points and seven rebounds.
 
Lindenwood has its home opener on Wednesday night with a 7 p.m. game at Hyland Arena against Truman.