Lindenwood's Battle on the Court - Dec. 21st Showdown

Game Overview

On December 21st (Sat) at 3:30 p.m., Lindenwood will take on Western Illinois University. The Lions have had a challenging season so far, with their Ohio Valley Conference opener resulting in a 79-73 loss to Tennessee Tech. However, they showed great resilience in the game, making a comeback that got as close as two points in the second half.

Reggie Bass led the team with 19 points, marking his most this season and scoring in double-digits for the fourth straight game. He shot 7-13 from the floor and made two three-pointers, while also grabbing four rebounds and dishing out two assists.

Player Performances

Markeith Browning II was active on both ends of the floor, scoring 17 points and posting a team-high seven steals. His seven steals are the most by a Lindenwood player in a single game during the Division I era and the most since 2019-20 when Kamau Kinder had eight against Hannibal-LaGrange.

Jaylon McDaniel secured his second straight double-figure scoring outing, scoring 12 points on 6-11 shooting and grabbing six rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. Freshman Jadis Jones also contributed with eight points, nine rebounds and three assists, as Lindenwood had 15 offensive rebounds in total.

Jordan Wildy chipped in nine points and four rebounds off the bench. Lindenwood forced Tennessee Tech into 15 turnovers and scored 21 points off of those. They had 12 steals in the game compared to just nine by the Golden Eagles and dominated in the paint, out-scoring TTU 52-30.

Three-Point Shooting and Free Throws

Tennessee Tech's three-point shooting on Thursday helped them past Lindenwood as they shot 11-24 from three, including four triples from Matthew Sells. The Golden Eagles also went a perfect 11-11 from the line in the second half, while Lindenwood was 2-8 down the stretch.

Lindenwood found themselves trailing early in the game, down 12-8 at the field media timeout. They started the game shooting 3-9 from the field while TTU started 2-3 from downtown. However, they didn't back down and eventually tied the game at 24 after scoring 20 of their first 20 points in the paint.

Second Half Struggles and Comeback Attempt

Lindenwood's first lead came with 7:19 remaining in the first half after Bass made a turn-around jumper off a turnover. During that span, they went on a 15-0 run to take control of the game at 33-24 with 5:40 remaining. But Tech made a comeback and scored a three by Kyle Layton with 26 seconds left in the half to lead 39-42.

In the second half, both teams started shooting 3-6 from the field, but Tech opened up a seven-point lead with 15:42 remaining and stretched it to their first double-digit effort of the night with 11:22 remaining after a layup by JaJuan Nicholls.

Lindenwood's last chance came when they cut the lead to two points at the 65-67 mark with 3:55 remaining. They had opportunities at the line to tie or take the lead but missed their last four free throw chances while Tech went 8-8 over the final four minutes of the game.

The Lions will be back in action on Saturday, December 21st against Western Illinois at 3:30 p.m. CT. For more information, go to lindenwoodlions.com.