WALKER VAN WEY| Reporter

Players with little experience, two days’ notice and One More Shot’s club team all teamed up to try and take down the Lindenwood billiards team and failed as the Lions won 16-11 in Tuesday’s tournament.

The match was seemingly over a quarter of the way in as the Lions took a commanding lead.

“We won the first six matches in a row,” said head coach Mark Wilson. “It felt like we were going to win for sure. It wasn’t like there was any elation to it; we were supposed to win.”

Though the Lions were cruising to victory, the tournament did see a rare falter from one of the Lions. Late in the match, with the Lindenwood victory already secured, freshman standout Andreas Madsen lost his first match since the early September.

“If the team has really good matchups, it doesn’t matter,” Madsen said. “When I lost against them it was like, 14-5 at the time, so it didn’t have really any effect on the outcome.”

Matching Madsen’s indifference to the loss was coach Wilson, who was not only able to shrug off the loss, but also see the benefits to it

“Andreas got a little wake-up call, and now he knows he can lose a race to three,” Wilson said. “I’ll tell you, I feel sorry for the next few guys he plays.”

Canceling out Madsen’s loss was a win for freshman Seth Chilcutt in his first tournament as a Lion, who received his team uniform two days prior.

“Seth won his first match, against an OK player too, which is great,” Wilson said. “You can tell he really tries hard when he’s there.”

In fact, it is that exact formula of sure hands and young talent that ensures the Lions’ present and future success.

“It’s important for the newer players to be able to play in these matches because of the experience it gives,” said sophomore Russell Carter. “It’s not like the team is relying on the more experienced players either. I have seen the newer players hold their own against the tough competition we face.“

The Lions are now 10-1 on the season but avoiding complacency with a big rematch coming up later in the month.
“We’ve got Teachers coming up again pretty soon and they are going to be tough,” Wilson said. “We barely beat them last time 14-13, and this time they’re at home.”

The Lions will be loading up the vans and driving to Michigan for the University of Michigan Team Championships from Nov. 11-12 as heavy favorites.