Lindenwood’s Keenon Cole had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the Lions’ loss to Utah Tech, Monday night at Hyland Arena. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah Tech (3-3) | 44 | 29 | 73 |
| Lindenwood (3-4) | 31 | 35 | 66 |
DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer
ST. CHARLES, MO — After trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half, the Lindenwood University men’s basketball team got within two points three times, one point once, and even tied the score. But the Lions could never completely overtake its opponent, Utah Tech, and eventually lost the game, Monday evening at Hyland Arena, 73-66.
The visiting Trailblazers stormed out to a 31-12 lead midway through the first half, which left Lindenwood chasing for the rest of the game. The Lions tied the score at 55 with 10:05 left in the second half. But Utah Tech re-took the lead and never let go in what proved to be a hard-fought battle for both teams.
“I thought the first half was a little disappointing from an effort standpoint,” Lindenwood head coach Kyle Gerdeman said. “Utah Tech came out and took it right to us physically, but I was really pleased with the second half resilience. We got in at halftime and regrouped and we came out and played a much better 20 minutes.”
Keenon Cole was the leading scorer for the Lions after posting 17 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. He also posted his seventh straight double-digit scoring effort against Utah Tech. Darius Beane also had 14 points and eight rebounds.
As a team, Lindenwood was held to just 34.8% shooting from the field and 26.3% from three-point range. The Lions also struggled at the foul line going 13-23 (56.5%). Utah Tech led all but 00:47 seconds of the game.
Lindenwood is now 3-4 on the season, but will look to even its record this Saturday, December 2, when it goes on the road to play Idaho State. That game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Lindenwood’s next home game will be next Saturday, December 9, when the Lions will host Kansas City in a 3:30 p.m. contest at Hyland Arena.
Utah Tech 73
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | Christensen,Tanner | * | 31 | 7-10 | 1-2 | 5-7 | 2-7 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 |
| 03 | Searles,Jaylen | * | 38 | 6-14 | 3-7 | 2-5 | 1-8 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
| 11 | Gonsalves,Noa | * | 34 | 5-8 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| 00 | Riley,Beon | * | 23 | 2-5 | 0-1 | 6-6 | 2-1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 01 | Demings,Aric | * | 29 | 1-6 | 1-3 | 5-9 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 10 | Rainwater,Tennessee | 4 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 30 | Turay,Unisa | 17 | 1-4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |
| 20 | Stearman,Caleb | 15 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 05 | Olayinka,Hamed | 9 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 24-51 | 7-19 | 18-28 | 6-31 | 37 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 73 |
Lindenwood 66
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Cole, Keenon | * | 37 | 5-18 | 2-6 | 5-8 | 1-10 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| 25 | Beane, Darius | * | 26 | 5-12 | 0-1 | 4-4 | 3-5 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| 05 | McDaniel, Jaylon | * | 15 | 3-5 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 13 | Haymon II, Keith | * | 31 | 2-7 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 23 | Talton, Jeremiah | * | 27 | 2-6 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 03 | Williams, Tommie | 22 | 3-9 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 22 | Ondekane, Isaac | 17 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1-7 | 6-1 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | |
| 01 | Ruffin, Colin | 19 | 1-6 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 11 | Lado, Amoro | 4 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 15 | Johnson Jr., Nathan | 2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 24-69 | 5-19 | 13-23 | 14-24 | 38 | 21 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 66 |
2023-24 Lindenwood Lions Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2, 2023 (Saturday) | 7:00 p.m. | Away | Idaho State | 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 | Hyland Arena |
| December 16, 2023 (Saturday) | 11:00 a.m. | Away | IUPUI | Indianapolis, IN |
| December 19, 2023 (Tuesday) | TBA | Away | Missouri State | Springfield, MO |
| December 22, 2023 (Friday) | 6:00 p.m. | Home | Rockford | 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 |