Lindenwood freshman brings the ball upcourt during Friday’s game against Nebraska-Omaha. (Photo courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska-Omaha (2-3) | 39 | 31 | 70 |
| Lindenwood (2-3) | 34 | 38 | 72 |
DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer
USAF ACADEMY, CO — The Lindenwood University men’s basketball team picked up its first win at the Air Force Classic, Friday afternoon, when it came from behind to defeat Nebraska-Omaha, 72-70, in a game played at the United States Air Force Academy.
“Back to back really good team efforts, this one fortunately resulted in a win,” Lindenwood head coach Kyle Gerdeman said. “Our guys earned it. We had five guys in double figures and our best defensive effort of the year came in this one. I am happy for our guys.”
UNO led by as many as 14 points in the first half, but Lindenwood managed to cut its deficit to 39-34 by halftime. Then, the Lions began the second half with a 7-0 run to take the lead at 41-39.
The two teams played a back-and-forth game for the first 10 minutes of the second half, which resulted in a 53-53 tie with 9:48 to go. But Lindenwood turned up its defense to go on a 10-0 run, sparked by four straight UNO turnovers and a 6-0 personal run by junior forward Isaac Ondekane, who made four straight free throws and a sprawling layup.
The Mavericks made a surge of their own to pull within a point with 35 seconds left, but Lindenwood freshman Colin Ruffin made a key jumper and added a free throw in the final 10 seconds to give the Lions the edge it needed to close out the win.
Five Lindenwood players scored in double figures, led by senior Keenon Cole, who had 19 points and eight rebounds. Jaylon McDaniel had 12 points, Ondekane had 11, Ruffin had 10, as did Darius Beane.
The Lions (2-3) will play their final game in the Air Force Classic on Sunday, when they’ll face William & Mary.
Nebraska-Omaha 70
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Fidler,Frankie | * | 36 | 6-13 | 2-6 | 5-6 | 2-3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 |
| 21 | Davis,Nick | * | 26 | 5-8 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3-6 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 02 | Marshall,Jaeden | * | 20 | 1-6 | 0-3 | 2-2 | 1-4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 10 | Sutton,Marquel | * | 22 | 1-5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 03 | Stubblefield,Grant | * | 18 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 01 | White,JJ | 22 | 2-6 | 0-2 | 9-13 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 13 | |
| 14 | Bryant,Marcel | 16 | 4-5 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 32 | Osburn,Tony | 25 | 3-9 | 2-7 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 00 | Jungers,Luke | 10 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| 24 | Ambrose,Jamal | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 24-56 | 5-23 | 17-23 | 10-24 | 34 | 15 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 70 |
Lindenwood 72
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Cole, Keenon | * | 37 | 6-14 | 1-5 | 6-8 | 3-5 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
| 05 | McDaniel, Jaylon | * | 26 | 4-8 | 0-0 | 4-5 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| 25 | Beane, Darius | * | 29 | 5-10 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 13 | Haymon II, Keith | * | 30 | 2-7 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0-6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 23 | Talton, Jeremiah | * | 18 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 22 | Ondekane, Isaac | 11 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 5-6 | 2-4 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| 01 | Ruffin, Colin | 24 | 4-6 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 03 | Williams, Tommie | 17 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 11 | Lado, Amoro | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 00 | Ware, David | 2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 15 | Johnson Jr., Nathan | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 26-55 | 4-14 | 16-21 | 8-24 | 32 | 19 | 9 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 72 |
2023-24 Lindenwood Lions Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |