The Lindenwood men's basketball team won a share of the HAAC Championship and a spot in the NAIA Division I National Championship Tournament on Saturday after it defeated MidAmerica Nazarene by an 86-74 score. The win was the 26th of the season for the tenth-ranked Lions, which ties a school record.

The Lions trailed for most of the contest, but outscored the Pioneers by a 25-6 margin over the final 7:45 of the game. The two longest tenured players led the team down the stretch. Senior Richard Rose had nine points, including going six of six from the free throw line. Junior Brandon Kunkel made a pair of three-pointers in less than a two-minute span, including the shot that sealed the game with 22 seconds left.

Lindenwood shot 50 percent from the field, the fourth time in the last five games that it shot at least that percentage. The Lions also made their way to the free throw line 31 times and made 22 of those shots. Lindenwood had two more rebounds and forced five more turnovers in the game.

Kramer Soderberg finished with a team-high 23 points and Rose collected 21. The guard duo combined to go 12 of 25 from the field and 16 of 20 from the free throw line. Soderberg also had nine assists and just one turnover.

Brett Thompson had a big game in the post, making seven of nine shots and finishing with 17 points, six rebounds, and three blocks. David King came off the bench to collect six points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

The conference championship is the second in program history for the Lions with the other one coming in 2005-06. The Lions will be making their first appearance in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Tournament.

Lindenwood improves to 26-3 overall and 17-2 in conference play. The Lions will be off until next Saturday when they have their final regular season game at home against William Jewell.