Game #9
Lindenwood (3-5, 0-0 OVC)
vs. Kansas City (3-6, 0-0 SL)
Match Information:
Date: Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023
Location: St. Charles, Mo.
Venue: Hyland Arena
Tip-Off: 3:30 p.m. CT
All-Time Series: 0-1
Last Meeting: L, 47-61 (12/3/22 at Kansas City)
Live Stats: Stats
Live Video: Watch

Matchup
The Lindenwood men's basketball team returns to Hyland Arena this weekend for their first of two straight home games. Saturday will see cross-state opponent Kansas City come to St. Charles for a weekend matchup.

Lindenwood suffered two losses last week against non-conference opponents Utah Tech and Idaho State. The Lions fell at home by a final score of 66-73 against Utah Tech to last week before losing 70-76 against Idaho State. Lindenwood had a late comeback vs. the Bengals behind Darius Beane's 19 points.

Kansas City comes into Hyland Arena with a 3-6 record including defeating fellow Ohio Valley Conference opponent Southeast Missouri State last week by a final score of 74-44. The Roos travel to Allen Field House this week and suffered a loss to No. 2 Kansas by a score of 69-88.

On the season, Lindenwood is shooting 40.6% from the field while making 69.3% from the line. In their last game on the road at Idaho State, the Lions shot 47.2% from the floor, their third highest mark of the season. They only shot 3-12 from beyond the arc with are both lows for this Lions squad.

To begin the season, the Lions were picked to finish 10th in the Ohio Valley Conference as they begin their second Division I season in program history under head coach Kyle Gerdeman.

Player to Watch
Jeremiah Talton is the third leading scorer for the Lions this season averaging 7.8 points per game while making 44.7% from the field which also ranks third on the team. He leads the team in three-point percentage shooting 43.5% from behind the arc (10-23 3FG). 

Last week vs. the Bengals of Idaho State, Talton scored 12 points on 3-4 shooting from the field including two three-pointers. His 12 points were his second most of the season behind the 13 he scored at Iowa State during the second game of the season. He also grabbed a season-high seven rebounds last week.

OVC Top Ten
The leader of the 2023-24 Lindenwood Lions team is leading scorer Keenon Cole. Cole is averaging 16.8 points per game this season, fourth in the OVC, and has scored in double digits in all eight games for the Lions. He is fifth on the team and 13th in the conference in FG% while shooting 41.5% from the field (among qualified players).

Not only is Cole effective from the field, but he also is solid at the foul line making 80.4% at the charity stripe, ranking fifth in the OVC. His 37 makes from the line is tied for second in the conference.

Darius Beane is also effective from the floor ranking fourth in field goal percentage after shooting 51.2% this season. Beane has scored over 20 points twice this season including a season high 25 points vs. William & Mary. Last game, Beane shot 6-9 from the field while also knocking down 7-11 foul shots. Beane has been active on defense as well grabbing 1.3 steals per game, tied for sixth in the OVC.

OVC Preseason Rankings
In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head men's basketball coaches and communication directors, Morehead State has been picked the preseason favorites for the 2023-24 season. It marks the second-straight year the Eagles have been tabbed the favorites.
 
The Eagles picked up 20 of 22 first-place votes (teams could not vote for themselves); Tennessee State picked up the other votes.  MSU tallied 200 points and was followed by SIUE (162), who was picked second. Tennessee State (153) was picked third and followed by UT Martin (149), Southeast Missouri (124), Tennessee Tech (120), Little Rock (85), Western Illinois (80), Southern Indiana (63), Lindenwood (40) and Eastern Illinois (34).

Scouting Kansas City
The Roos are led by second year head coach Marvin Menzies who led Kansas City to an 11-21 record last season. Menzies has more than 30 years of college coaching experience with 244 head coaching wins while making five NCAA Tournament appearances and signing six McDonalds All-American as head coach at New Mexico State and UNLV.

Jamar Brown is the leading scorer for the Roos averaging 12.9 points per game while shooting 44.2% from the floor. He scored a season high 19 points against the Redhawks of SEMO and has scored in double-digits in seven of nine games this season. He is also their leading rebounder after averaging 5.6 boards per game.

Head Coach: Kyle Gerdeman
Kyle Gerdeman enters his fifth year at the helm of the Lindenwood men's basketball program in the 2023-24 season. The Lions concluded their inaugural Division I season in 2022-23 where Gerdeman led the Lions to an appearances in the OVC Tournament after a wild finish to the season.

The Lions took down in-state rival Southeast Missouri State in double-overtime to keep their postseason hopes alive.  In the final game of the regular season, Lindenwood needed a win to move on, and Kevin Caldwell Jr. answered the call with a game-winning bucket in overtime.

Lindenwood led the OVC in free-throw percentage (75.6), and was second in the OVC in three-point percentage (39.1).  Chris Childs held the top spot in the league with a free-throw percentage of 92.7, while Keenon Cole was atop the OVC with a three-point percentage of 51.0 percent.  The Lions clawed their way to three overtime wins on the season.  Lindenwood also posted two comeback victories from 20 points down, and another 17-point comeback during OVC play.

Up Next
The Lions continue their two-game home stand on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 7:00 p.m. as Lindenwood takes on Avila (Mo.) for a non-conference matchup at Hyland Arena. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.