The Lindenwood men's basketball team (5-8, 1-4 GLVC) fell by a score of 98-66 to Illinois Springfield (7-6, 2-3 GLVC) on Thursday night from Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo.

GAME OVERVIEW 
The game was a defensive battle early as the score was 13-9 at the 12-minute mark of the opening half. The Prairie Stars found another gear offensively shortly after, as Illinois Springfield shot 55 percent from the field in the opening half.  Romelo Burrell and Kevin Caldwell Jr. led the way for the Lions in the first half, scoring six points each.

Lindenwood went on a 13-6 run to open the second half, capped off by a Brandon Suggs dunk, closing the deficit to 50-40 with 15:24 remaining. UIS quickly built its lead back up to 27 points at 76-49, its largest lead of the game which proved to be too much for Lindenwood as it fell 98-66.

GAME LEADERS 
Romelo Burrell (16 PTS, 8 REB)  
Kevin Caldwell Jr. (12 PTS, 7 AST)  
Brandon Trimble (12 PTS, 3-of-5 3PT)

QUOTABLE
"This was a tough loss tonight, but give credit to UIS for playing well," said head coach Kyle Gerdeman.  "The biggest key for us, and we talked about it after the game, is that we have to get a much better commitment defensively, which starts 1-on-1 and ends as a group.  We still have plenty of games left, but our improvement has to speed up."

UP NEXT  
The Lions hits the road to take on Quincy on Saturday.  Opening tip is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. from Quincy, Ill.