Game #20
Lindenwood (7-12, 1-5 OVC)
at Little Rock (9-10, 3-3 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024
Location: Little Rock, Ark.
Venue: Jack Stephens Center
Tip-Off: 6:30 p.m. CT
All-Time Series: 2-0
Last Meeting: W, 97-96 (OT)
Live Stats: Stats
Live Video: Watch

Matchup
The Lindenwood men's basketball team will travel to Little Rock, Ark. to take on the Trojans of Little Rock on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 6:30 p.m. CT. Lindenwood is currently on a three-game losing skid since their first OVC win of the season at SEMO.

Lindenwood is coming off two hard fought losses at home last weekend against SIUE and Eastern Illinois. LU fell to EIU on Saturday by a final score of 68-78 in which Lindenwood went 11-23 from three-point range, their most made threes in a game this season. The Lions leading scorer this season Keenon Cole scored 21 points in the loss.

Little Rock currently ranks seventh in the conference with an OVC record of 3-3 with wins against Southern Indiana, SIUE and Tennessee Tech. In their last game against USI, the Trojans secured a close win by a final score of 77-75. LR is 7-4 at home this season including 1-1 in OVC play.

During OVC competition, the Lions are averaging 63.6 ppg which ranks last among all OVC teams. They are shooting 42.3% during those games which ranks seventh. Throughout their entire season, LU is averaging 66.2 points a game behind the Lion's two leading scorers Keenon Cole (18.7 ppg) and Darius Beane (12.5 ppg). The duo combines for 47.2% of Lindenwood's scoring.

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
Tommie Williams is coming off his two best games of the season in OVC play after averaging 11.0 points per game. He scored a season-high 14 points on Saturday against Eastern Illinois which included 12 points at halftime.

Williams shot 5-10 from the field against the Panthers and made 2-5 from deep. He also picked up six rebounds and a career-high seven assists which also was the most by a Lindenwood player this season. He also had eight points and seven rebounds in a loss vs. SIUE.

On the season, Williams is averaging 3.9 ppg while pulling down 2.9 rebounds. He also is third on the team this season in assists with 24. Williams is also shooting 35.7% from three-point range.

OVC Top Ten
Keenon Cole maintains his place as the third leading scorer in the OVC while averaging 18.7 points per game. He trails only Jordan Sears from UT Martin and Riley Minix from Morehead State in points this season. He also ranks ninth in free-throw percentage at 79.5% and third in minutes averaging 33.5 after playing all 40 minutes vs. EIU.

Darius Beane can also score for the Lions averaging 12.5 points per game this season ranking just outside the top ten at 17. His field goal percentage ranks fifth in the OVC at 47.0%. Beane is second in most offensive categories behind Cole.

Colin Ruffin is averaging 1.3 steals per game as a freshman this season which ranks seventh in the conference. He is the only Lindenwood player with over 20 steals this season (25).

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 Little Rock
The Trojans are led by sixth year head coach Darrell Walker. Walker was previously the head coach for the University of Arkansas and brings 10 years of NBA coaching experience. He has a career record of 70-96 in his six seasons.

KK Robinson leads the Little Rock offense that has four different double-digit scorers. He is currently averaging 17.9 ppg which ranks fourth in the conference. He posted his third double-double of the season vs. USI after posting 20 points and 10 rebounds. He has four games of over 20 points.

Jamir Chaplin also ranks in the top ten in scoring this season after averaging 16.8 points per game. He has seven games this season scoring over 20 points including a season-high 29 points at Tennessee State.

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 road trip on Saturday as they head to Martin, Tenn. to take on the Skyhawks of UT Martin at 3:30 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.