COLUMBIA, Ky. — The Blue Raiders trailed Shawnee State 56-55 and inbounded the ball in the front court with seven seconds remaining. After the inbounds pass, the ball was moved around the perimeter and ended up in the hands of DJ Lambert in front of the Lindsey Wilson bench. Lambert rose up and attempted a last-second corner three, but Shawnee States' Blake Yates closed out and blocked the shot to seal the victory for the Bears.

Lindsey Wilson men's basketball (15-10, 5-7 MSC) lost 56-55 to Shawnee State (Ohio) (13-3, 7-7 MSC) in a tightly contested Mid-South Conference game on Saturday evening at Biggers Sports Center.

The Blue Raiders were led on the court by Hannes Erhardt, who scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Dmitry Utolin, who scored 15 points and snagged four boards.

The Blue Raiders made a season-high 90.5 percent (19-of-21) of their free throws, while the Bears made eight three-point shots in the game. Lindsey Wilson and Shawnee State both struggled shooting the ball. The Blue Raiders shot 34.0 percent from the field, while Bears made 37.3 percent of their shots.

The first half was a defensive struggle resulting in a 26-26 stalemate at the end of the period. The Blue Raiders scored the first seven points of the game to take the largest lead of the half at 7-0, but the Bears clawed their way back and took a two point lead at 24-22 with under four minutes to play. There were four ties in the first 20 minutes of play including the 26-26 tie at the half.

Conor Markins, who scored 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the game, led the Bears with 9 points in the half on 3-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point range. Utolin led the Blue Raiders in the period with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

In the second half, Lindsey Wilson jumped out to its largest lead at 35-30 with 16:09 to play, but the Bears stormed back with a 15-0 run to take a 45-35 advantage with just over 11 minutes remaining.

The Blue Raiders responded by putting together an 18-3 streak of their own that reclaimed the lead for Lindsey Wilson at 53-49 with 2:59 left in the game, but Shawnee State was not done.

The Bears defense held the Blue Raiders scoreless over the final 1:25, and Yates, who led Shawnee State with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-5 from three-point range, and Ethan Moffatt, who scored nine points on the night, each made field goals to give Shawnee State a 56-55 advantage with 11 seconds to play.

Lindsey Wilson had the ball with a one-point lead under a minute to go, but Charles Sutton's shot attempt was also blocked away by Yates, giving the Bears the ball down one with the shot clock turned off. Moffatt then hit his jump hook on the ensuing possession to give Shawnee State their first lead since the 3:57 mark of the second half.

After a couple of timeouts and with seven seconds remaining, the Blue Raiders ran their final offensive possession of the night. Lambert attempted his last second shot that was blocked by Yates and the buzzer sounded.

Lindsey Wilson returns to the hardwood on Thursday at MSC rival Campbellsville (Ky.).