Richard Rose hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds left to give the No. 12 Lindenwood men's basketball team a 68-66 win over the top ranked team in the NAIA, Robert Morris. The game was played in front of a large home opener crowd and was the first victory for first year head coach Brad Soderberg.

<See the game winning play here>

Last season, Robert Morris was one of the top scoring teams in the NAIA by averaging 86.6 points a game. The Lions defense however forced 16 turnovers and held the Eagles to just 43.9 percent shooting from the field and 30.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

“I was really pleased with the way we defended tonight,” said Soderberg. “I believe that in order for this program to make their mark on the national level, we will have to defend for 40 minutes every game and we did that tonight.”

Lindenwood held the lead for the majority of the game after starting strong for the second straight game. A pair of free throws by Toriano Adams with 2:44 left in the first-half gave the Lions their largest lead of the game at 34-21 and they went on to lead by a 35-28 advantage at halftime.

In the second-half, the Eagles chipped away at Lindenwood's lead but could never get in front until a jumper by Yamani Ball with 3:29 remaining in the contest. That lead lasted only 24 seconds as a 6-0 run, sparked by four points by Adams and two by Shane Williams put Lindenwood up 66-61 with just over a minute remaining.

Robert Morris did not fold though, cutting the lead to three on a layup and then getting the ball back with 22 seconds left after Lindenwood missed the front end of a one-and-one. With 5.5 seconds left, Billy Rush hit a long three-pointer to tie the game.

After a timeout, Lindenwood inbounded the ball to Rose who drove down, faked a shot, and drew a foul with 0.9 seconds left on the clock. He calmly sank both free throws and Robert Morris's desperation three at the buzzer hit the rim and bounced off to the left.

The duo of Adams and Rose combined for 45 of Lindenwood's 68 points. Adams had 20 points, was a perfect eight-of-eight from the field, and had a team-high six rebounds. Rose finished with 25 points, including 10-of-12 from the free throw line.

“I want to single out Adams and Rose for their play tonight,” said Soderberg. “T.A. was a warrior down low even though he was undersized and Richard has a knack of drawing fouls which he did at the perfect time tonight.”

Joey Parker had seven assists against just one turnover, and also collected two steals. Brandon Kunkel came off the bench to score eight points.

Robert Morris was led by 18 points from Rush and 12 from Robert Jones.

Lindenwood will host No. 23 Life (Ga.) tomorrow evening in the final game of the Lion Pride Classic.