Lindenwood’s Keenon Cole slams one home during the Lions’ 83-52 victory over Hannibal-La Grange on Monday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hannibal-La Grange (0-2) | 23 | 29 | 52 |
| Lindenwood (1-2) | 37 | 46 | 83 |
DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer
ST. CHARLES, MO — The Lindenwood University men’s basketball team picked up its first win of the 2023-24 season on Monday, when it defeated Hannibal-La Grange in its home opener, 83-52, at Hyland Arena.
Keenon Cole and Darius Beane scored 20 points each, and Amoro Lado came off the bench to knock down three three-pointers to lead the Lions to the win, in front of a raucous home crowd of nearly a thousand Lindenwood fans.
“I think first and foremost I am happy for our guys to get a win here,” Lindenwood head coach Kyle Gerdeman said. “I think it is also good to get that first one. Being at home in front of a crowd is good, and I know the guys were excited about seeing a good crowd tonight.”
Cole continued his terrific start to the 2023-34 season after dropping back-to-back 20 point performances. Cole remains the leading scorer for the Lions after averaging 18.0 points per game while scoring in double-digits in all three contests.
Beane had his best performance as a Lion after scoring 20 points and picking up four assists and three steals. Not only was he tied for the scoring lead, but he did it efficiently hitting 10 of 14 shots all within the three-point arc.
“I was happy for Darius because he got into some four trouble in our first game and did not really get into a rhythm,” Gerdeman said. “It was important for him to come out and really find his way offensively tonight.”
Lindenwood’s offense started off slow on Monday, only leading 16-14 at the 7:57 mark in the first half. LU struggled from three-point range missing their first five attempts and only hitting 3-16 from that range (18.8 3FG%). LU largest scoring run of the night was nine points.
Most of the Lions’ damage came from in the paint with Lindenwood picking up 50 of their points from that area. They held Hannibal-LaGrange to just 14 points in the paint. Beane did most of his work with pull-up jumpers in the middle of the key, while David Ware picked up all eight of his points down in the trenches and also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Over the first couple games of the season, Lindenwood was only averaging 4.5 assists per game. That changed on Monday when Lindenwood picked up 18 assists including five from Tommie Williams off the bench. Nine Lions had at least one assist tonight.
Lindenwood also used their defense to create offense scoring 30 points off turnovers. LU had three players have three steals in the game including Williams, Beane and Nathan Johnson Jr. Hannibal-LaGrange had 22 turnovers on the evening.
After making a single game appearance at home, the Lions will be back on the road this weekend, where it will play in the three-game Air Force Classic at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
Lindenwood will play games on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, beginning with a matchup against Air Force, Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The Lions’ next home game will be on November 27, when they’ll host Utah Tech in a 7 p.m. contest at Hyland Arena.
Hannibal-La Grange 52
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05 | Cross,Chris | * | 35 | 4-10 | 3-7 | 3-3 | 0-4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 13 | Becton,Khalib | * | 33 | 6-9 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| 01 | Flotow,Janssen | * | 33 | 4-13 | 2-6 | 2-4 | 1-4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 00 | Munoz,Malakai | * | 30 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 23 | Gutierrez,Nick | * | 24 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | Wood,Colby | 9 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 15 | Ambrose,Eddie | 12 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 11 | Long,Davell | 7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 04 | Hively,Erick | 7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 02 | Nyoo,Russell | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 03 | Askey,Harrison | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 18-43 | 9-22 | 7-10 | 4-16 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 52 |
Lindenwood 83
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Cole, Keenon | * | 32 | 9-12 | 0-3 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 25 | Beane, Darius | * | 29 | 10-14 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0-4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| 00 | Ware, David | * | 21 | 4-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 6-4 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 13 | Haymon II, Keith | * | 23 | 2-7 | 0-4 | 2-2 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 01 | Ruffin, Colin | * | 17 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | Lado, Amoro | 8 | 4-6 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| 23 | Talton, Jeremiah | 19 | 3-5 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| 15 | Johnson Jr., Nathan | 13 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 22 | Ondekane, Isaac | 11 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 03 | Williams, Tommie | 23 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| 10 | Horry, RJ | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 20 | Wampler-Foust, Brayden | 2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 36-62 | 3-16 | 8-13 | 10-19 | 29 | 11 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 83 |
2023-24 Lindenwood Lions Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 16, 2023 (Thursday) | 5:30 p.m. | Away | Air Force | USAF Academy, CO |
| November 17, 2023 (Friday) | 3:00 p.m. | Neutral | Nebraska at Omaha | USAF Academy, CO |
| November 19, 2023 (Sunday) | 12:30 p.m. | Neutral | William & Mary | USAF Academy, CO |
| November 27, 2023 (Monday) | 7:00 p.m. | Home | Utah Tech | Hyland Arena |
| December 2, 2023 (Saturday) | 7:00 p.m. | Away | Idaho State University | Pocatello, ID |
| December 9, 2023 (Saturday) | 3:30 p.m. | Home | Kansas City | Hyland Arena |
| December 12, 2023 (Tuesday) | 7:00 p.m. | Home | Avila University | Hyland Arena |
| December 16, 2023 (Saturday) | 11:00 a.m. | Away | IUPUI | Indianapolis, IN |
| December 19, 2023 (Tuesday) | TBA | Away | Missouri State University | Springfield, MO |
| December 22, 2023 (Friday) | 6:00 p.m. | Home | Rockford University | Hyland Arena |
| December 31, 2023 (Sunday) | 2:30 p.m. | Home | Southern Indiana | Hyland Arena |
| January 6, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:30 p.m. | Away | Western Illinois | Macomb, IL |
| January 11, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Southeast Missouri State | Cape Girardeau, MO |
| January 13, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:30 p.m. | Away | Tennessee State | Nashville, TN |
| January 18, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | SIU-Edwardsville | Hyland Arena |
| January 20, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:30 p.m. | Home | Eastern Illinois | Hyland Arena |
| January 25, 2024 (Thursday) | 6:30 p.m. | Away | Little Rock | Little Rock, Ark. |
| January 27, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:30 p.m. | Away | Tennessee-Martin | Martin, TN |
| January 30, 2024 (Tuesday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Southeast Missouri State | Hyland Arena |
| February 1, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Western Illinois | Hyland Arena |
| February 8, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Tennessee State | Hyland Arena |
| February 10, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:30 p.m. | Home | Tennessee Tech | Hyland Arena |
| February 15, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | SIU-Edwardsville | Edwardsville, IL |
| February 17, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:30 p.m. | Away | Eastern Illinois | Charleston, IL |
| February 22, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Tennessee-Martin | Hyland Arena |
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:30 p.m. | Home | Arkansas-Little Rock | Hyland Arena |
| February 29, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Southern Indiana | Evansville, IN |
| March 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:00 p.m. | Away | Morehead State | Morehead, KY |
| March 6-10, 2024 | TBA | Ford Center | Ohio Valley Conference | Evansville, IN |