ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood men's basketball (6-7, 0-0 OVC) ended their non-conference schedule with a win at Hyland Arena over Rockford (9-3, 3-2 NACC) by a final score of 81-54. The Lions shot 55.4% from the field (31-56) and 75.0% from the foul line (15-20).

"I thought out guys did a really good job tonight coming out with a great purpose," said head coach Kyle Gerdeman. "I thought we had a good week overall. We worked through the first half and we had some positive moments. We started the second half with a lot of defensive purpose and we did a good job of moving the ball helping us find some easy shots."

Keenon Cole was the Lions' leading scorer after posting 18 points on 8-15 shooting from the floor. Jeremiah Talton also chipped in a career high 15 points on 3-8 shooting including two threes. LU's 55.4% shooting was the second time the Lions have eclipsed 50% from the field this season.

Rockford starting the game leading for the majority of the first four minutes. Jaden Bell had six points at the second media timeout and led the way for the Regents that shot 5-7 from deep to start the game.

Lindenwood went on an 11-6 run to regain the lead at 27-25. Darius Beane and Jaylon McDaniel got involved in the offense during the run. Beane finished the game with seven points on 3-6 shooting while McDaniel had nine points and six rebounds down low.

The Lions stretched their lead at halftime to eight points 39-31. Five Lindenwood players had at least six points in the first half including Cole who led the team with eight points. LU shot 60.0% from the field in the first 20 minutes while Rockford shot 42.9% including 7-18 from three point range.

To start the second half, Lindenwood's aggressive defense led to some easy transition points as they started the second half on a 15-4 run to increase their lead to 54-35. Talton scored seven of his 15 points in the first four minutes of the second half. LU had 10 fast break points.

Lindenwood forced Rockford into 14 turnovers while picking up five steals. LU's defense also had four blocks including two from Jaylon McDaniel. Rockford was held to just 9-29 shooting in the second half as Lindenwood at a game high lead of 30 points at one point.

Keith Haymon II was perfect from the field (4-4) including hit two threes. He finished with 12 points, his second most this season. Beane also grabbed a team high seven rebounds while dishing out four assists.

Tommie Williams came off the bench and gave Lindenwood eight points in 24 minutes of action. Colin Ruffin and Nathan Johnson Jr. also scored six points each in the win. Lindenwood also out-rebounded Rockford 35-31.

The Lions will be back in Hyland Arena on Sunday, Dec. 31 when they start Ohio Valley Conference play against Southern Indiana. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.