Lindenwood’s Isaac Ondekane defends against SEMO’s Aquan Smart during Tuesday’s NCAA Men’s Basketball game at Hyland Arena in St. Charles. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEMO (7-15, 2-7) | 18 | 36 | 54 |
| Lindenwood (8-14, 2-7) | 20 | 38 | 58 |
DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer
ST. CHARLES, MO — The Lindenwood University men’s basketball team snapped a five-game losing streak and picked up its first home Ohio Valley Conference win on Tuesday, when it defeated Southeast Missouri State, 58-54, in a tense ballgame at Hyland Arena.
Neither team shot the ball, especially in the first half, and they combined to go 2-for-21 from three-point land. But Lindenwood managed to be a little bit better to earn itself a win.
“It wasn’t the prettiest game on either side of the ball,” Lindenwood head coach Kyle Gerdeman said. “But I thought for our guys to dig in and stay tough over 40 minutes was resilient. These guys deserved it and I am glad we got it done tonight.”
In a game that featured 14 ties and nine lead changes, the Lions got it done by being clutch at the free throw line, where they were 17-of-22 on the night, but were a perfect 15-for-15 in the second half, including 11-for-11 in the final 2 minutes and 24 seconds.
Lindenwood trailed 46-45 with three minutes to go, but junior big man Isaac Ondekane made a layup to give the Lions the lead. He also got fouled on the play and made the free throw.
The Lions didn’t make another basket the rest of the game, but also never trailed again because they made all their free throws the rest of the way. SEMO tied the game twice down the stretch, but could never get the lead because Lindenwood made sure to keep hitting its free throws.
Senior Keenon Cole was a key figure in that. He led Lindenwood with 20 points, including eight straight free throws during that final run. For the game, Cole was 10-for-12 from the free throw line.
Fellow senior Darius Beane had 14 points (12 in the second half), four assists, and five steals. He was also four-for-four from the free throw line.
Ondekane, who came off the bench for the Lions, had 11 points and four rebounds, and was five-for-five from the field.
Lindenwood (8-14, 2-7 OVC) will be right back in action on Thursday, February 1, when it will host Western Illinois in another OVC game at Hyland Arena. That contest is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
SEMO 54
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Earley,Josh | * | 26 | 7-11 | 0-0 | 5-6 | 4-7 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 03 | Smart,Aquan | * | 25 | 4-8 | 0-1 | 3-5 | 0-3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| 44 | Stacker,Braxton | * | 32 | 4-8 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 04 | Larson,Adam | * | 16 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 01 | Martin,Rob | * | 20 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | Eursher,Evan | 22 | 3-6 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 1-5 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| 55 | Bell,Marqueas | 13 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 02 | Ward,BJ | 23 | 0-4 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 05 | Biel,TJ | 18 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| 35 | Hanback,Mason | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | Idada,David | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 20-46 | 1-10 | 13-17 | 9-25 | 34 | 23 | 9 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 54 |
Lindenwood 58
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Cole,Keenon | * | 39 | 5-14 | 0-4 | 10-12 | 3-5 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 20 |
| 25 | Beane,Darius | * | 36 | 5-14 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 0-3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 14 |
| 05 | McDaniel,Jaylon | * | 17 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 03 | Williams,Tommie | * | 30 | 0-5 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Talton,Jeremiah | * | 17 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | Ondekane,Isaac | 17 | 5-5 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3-1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| 15 | Johnson Jr.,Nathan | 16 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 13 | Haymon II,Keith | 17 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 01 | Ruffin,Colin | 11 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5-1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 20-57 | 1-11 | 17-22 | 14-20 | 34 | 17 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 58 |
2023-24 Lindenwood Lions Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | SIUE | Edwardsville, Ill. | |
| February 17, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:30 p.m. | Away | Eastern Illinois | Charleston, Ill. | |
| February 22, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Tenn-Martin | Hyland Arena | |
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:30 p.m. | Home | Little Rock | Hyland Arena | |
| February 29, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Southern Indiana | Evansville, Ind. | |
| March 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:00 p.m. | Away | Morehead State | Morehead, Ky. | |
| March 6, 2024 (Wednesday) | TBA | Neutral | Ohio Valley Conference | Evansvile, Ind. / Ford Center |