complete game notes in .pdf format
Storyline
The No. 4 Lindenwood men's basketball team faces the most important part of its schedule over the next three weeks. As the conference season approaches the halfway mark, four teams appear to be in the race for the conference title. Lindenwood, who currently leads that race, has four games in the next 17 days against the other three teams near the top of the HAAC standings.
The first two games in that stretch will take place this Saturday and Monday. On Saturday, Lindenwood will travel to No. 18 William Jewell for a rematch of last year's HAAC Tournament Championship game. Those two teams are a combined 32-3 on the year. Monday, the Lions return home for a contest against Benedictine.
The Lions are looking to protect their highest national ranking in school history and a winning streak that is currently 16 games. The team's offense has carried it lately, with Lindenwood averaging 86.5 points a game the last four contests.
Last Time Out
Lindenwood went 3-0 last week with conference victories over Avila, Central Methodist, and MidAmerica Nazarene.
Against Avila, the Lions trailed by as much as 11 points in the second half, but they came back for a 79-71 win. Lindenwood turned the game around on the defensive end, holding Avila without a field goal for over nine minutes. During that stretch, the Lions went on a 23-1 run. Kramer Soderberg led the team with 18 points.
Lindenwood never trailed in an 84-74 win over Central Methodist. All five starters scored in double figures, led by 19 points from Alfred Nelson. The Lions turned the ball over just 12 times against the HAAC's best team in forcing miscues.
The Lions jumped out to a 50-30 halftime lead over MidAmerica Nazarene and finished with a 97-73 win. David King had a career-high 20 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Soderberg had 15 points and collected nine assists.
Hot Shooters
Lindenwood continues to lead the HAAC in all three shooting categories. The Lions rank second in the NAIA in free throw percentage and three-point percentage, and are 13th in field goal percentage.
Among the six players who have started at least one game this year, five are shooting over 50 percent from the field. Those six players are shooting a combined 51.3 percent.
Explosive Offense
The Lions have scored over 75 points in nine straight games. In that span, they are averaging 84.3 points a game, and are shooting over 51 percent from the field. From three-point range, Lindenwood is making 8.3 three-pointers a game and shooting 44.1 percent. At the charity stripe in those nine contests, the Lions are making 21.1 free throws a game, and shooting just under 80 percent.
Forwards Stepping Up
Lindenwood's forwards and centers took some pressure off their guards last week by stepping up their offensive production. In the three games last week, over 44 percent of the team's scoring came from post players, and they shot 62.3 percent from the field. Prior to those games, the guards were accounting for nearly 70 percent of the team's scoring.
Alfred Nelson has led the forwards this year by averaging nearly nine points a game. He has scored at least nine points in eight of the last nine games. In that span, he has an 11.0 scoring average.
Another senior, David King, has scored 30 points in the last two games, and he shot nearly 70 percent last week.
Three-Point Milestones
Richard Rose made the 200th three-pointer of his career last Saturday against MidAmerica Nazarene. He is just the second Lion all-time to reach that plateau.
This season, Rose currently ranks second in the NAIA in three-point percentage and is eighth in three-pointers made per game.
Another Lion, Brandon Kunkel, is nearing 100 three-pointers for his career. He needs four more entering the William Jewell contest.
Fab Freshmen
True freshmen Michael Boos and Garrett Reeg have been key contributors off the bench for Lindenwood this season.
Boos is averaging 5.4 points a game and is second on the team with 23 three-pointers. Reeg is averaging 3.6 points and 4.0 rebounds a game, and is second on the team with a 56.4 shooting percentage from the field.
Both players had major roles in victories last week. Boos had 14 points and four three-pointers in the win over MidAmerica Nazarene. Reeg averaged 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds for the week, and shot 75 percent from the field.
Hyland Arena
Lindenwood is now 22-2 at Hyland Arena since the start of Soderball. The Lions are averaging 74.7 points a game in those contests, and allowing just 61.6 points a game.
Defensive Showdowns
Lindenwood, William Jewell, and Benedictine are among the top four teams in the HAAC in scoring defense.
Scouting the Cardinals
William Jewell is currently 15-2 overall and 6-1 in conference play before an important game on Thursday night at Evangel. Its lone losses have been to No. 19 Park and Benedictine.
William Jewell leads the HAAC in rebounding with a +4.06 margin. Offensively, the team is averaging 75.2 points a game and is shooting 47.6 percent from the field. Defensively, the Cardinals are allowing just 65.4 points a game, which ranks in the top 20 in the nation.
Nick Larson is the team leader with 16.9 points a game, and is among the nation's leaders with 11.2 rebounds a contest. He is shooting 58.9 percent from the field. Three other players, Jonathan Benson, Mark Mason, and Chris Uz, are also averaging double-figure points.
Head coach of William Jewell is Larry Holley. Holley has been at William Jewell since 1979-80, and recently passed 800 career wins.
Scouting the Ravens
Benedictine is just 4-6 in non-conference action this season, but has been one of the surprise teams in the HAAC by winning five of its first seven conference games. The Ravens face Avila and Missouri Valley before coming to St. Charles next Monday.
Benedictine has been winning with a defense that ranks seventh in the nation by allowing just 62.6 points a game. All of the team's victories have come when it has held the opposing team under 70 points.
Three players averaged double-figure points for a Benedictine offense that is averaging 62.2 points a game. Chris McFaul leads the team with 13.4 points a game and 45 three-pointers. Duane Morgan is averaging 12.4 points, and Alex Miller has 10.5 points to go along with a team-high 5.8 rebounds a game.
Benedictine is under the direction of first-year head coach Todd Eisner. Eisner has won over 300 games in 13 years as a head coach at Bellevue and Viterbo.
Last Season
Lindenwood went 1-1 last season against Benedictine, and 1-2 against William Jewell. In all five contests, the home team won.
In the Benedictine games, both were decided by double-digit points. The Lions trailed at halftime in both games, but at home were able to dominate the low post in the second half for the victory.
Lindenwood outscored William Jewell by seven points in the three games last year, but the Cardinals were able to win by two and one points, respectively, in the games in Liberty. The biggest contest was in the HAAC Tournament Championship game, which the Cardinals won by one in overtime.
Up Next
Lindenwood travels to Culver-Stockton on Jan. 27 before starting a two-game homestand on Jan. 29 against Baker. Those two games start the second-half of the HAAC schedule for the Lions.
