Lindenwood junior Darius Beane slams one home during the Lions’ win over Avila, Tuesday night at Hyland Arena. (Photo courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avila (2-6) | 33 | 31 | 64 |
| Lindenwood (4-6) | 44 | 37 | 81 |
DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer
ST. CHARLES, MO — The Lindenwood University men’s basketball team put an end to a three-game losing streak by earning an exciting 81-64 win, Tuesday night at Hyland Arena over visiting Avila University.
The Lions got 25 points and nine rebounds from senior forward Keenon Cole, and 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals from guard Darius Beane, in a victory that lifted Lindenwood’s overall record to 4-6.
The Eagles kept it close early on after hanging around by five or six points for most of the first half. Avila shot 4-11 from three in the first half while making 13-30 field goals in the first twenty minutes. Lindenwood went on a 9-3 run to end the half to give LU an 11 point lead (44-33).
Over the first couple of minutes of action to start the second half, Lindenwood extended their leading to 16 after four quick points from Jaylon McDaniel. McDaniel scored 12 points for Lindenwood on 4-8 shooting.
Avila got it as close as six points at the 56-50 mark after a pull-up jump shot by Jordan Majeed. Lindenwood pushed their lead back to 11 points after a layup by Cole with 11 minutes remaining.
Defensive pressure picked up for the Lions late in the game causing six turnovers in the final 10 minutes of action. Beane and Cole both made multiple late shots to close out the win for the Lions.
Colin Ruffin picked up eight points and six rebounds for Lindenwood while also creating two steals. Jeremiah Talton and Isaac Ondekane both contributed seven points in the win. LU out-rebounded Avila 40-29 on Tuesday.
Lindenwood will return to the floor on Saturday, December 16, when the team will hit the road and head to Indianapolis, for an 11:00 a.m. matchup against IUPUI.
The Lions’ next home game will be on December 22, in a matchup against Rockford University.
Avila 64
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Smith,Cooper | * | 18 | 4-5 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 04 | Ross III,James | * | 22 | 3-10 | 2-4 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| 20 | Boldt,Matthew | * | 20 | 4-8 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| 32 | Combs,Desmond | * | 18 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 01 | Williams,George | * | 29 | 2-8 | 1-6 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 22 | Spalding,Christian | 10 | 2-5 | 1-1 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 50 | Goins,Jehoiada | 22 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 34 | Kilpatrick,Josh | 20 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 11 | Miller,Jaren | 10 | 1-6 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 15 | Larson,Jared | 6 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 13 | Majeed,Jordan | 25 | 1-6 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3-2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 25-62 | 8-20 | 6-8 | 10-19 | 29 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 64 |
Lindenwood 81
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Cole, Keenon | * | 35 | 9-18 | 1-6 | 6-7 | 2-7 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 25 |
| 25 | Beane, Darius | * | 37 | 7-13 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 2-4 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 17 |
| 05 | McDaniel, Jaylon | * | 23 | 4-8 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 01 | Ruffin, Colin | * | 30 | 2-6 | 1-3 | 3-4 | 2-4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 23 | Talton, Jeremiah | * | 27 | 1-5 | 1-4 | 4-4 | 2-2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 22 | Ondekane, Isaac | 14 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3-2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 13 | Haymon II, Keith | 17 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 15 | Johnson Jr., Nathan | 15 | 0-3 | 0-3 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 11 | Lado, Amoro | 2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 27-59 | 4-18 | 23-27 | 13-27 | 40 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 81 |
2023-24 Lindenwood Lions Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |