The Lindenwood men's basketball team (5-6) earned a convincing 77-42 win over Knox College (2-9) on Saturday afternoon inside Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
 
GAME OVERVIEW
Lindenwood hit a pair of three pointers early in the game to take a 6-3 lead at the 17:35 mark.  The Lions were nails on the defensive end, keeping the Prairie Fire from scoring points for more than seven minutes.  Kevin Caldwell Jr. knocked down a three-point bucket at the 15:43 mark to put the Lions ahead 11-3.  Knox made a jumper in the paint at the 11:01 mark to make it a 20-5 Lindenwood advantage.
 
The Lions continued to feed the boys in the paint, as Keenon Cole made a layup with six minutes to go in the half to secure a 28-9 lead.  Cam Burrell gave Lindenwood a 21-point lead as the half came close to an end.  Caldwell Jr. ended the first 20 minutes of play with a driving layup, resulting in a 41-15 halftime lead.  Lindenwood held Knox to 20.8 percent shooting from the field, and forced the Prairie Fire into 10 turnovers. 
 
Lindenwood kept its stout defense rolling into the second half, as Burrell registered a steal and went the length of the court to throw down a one-handed dunk.  Lindenwood maintained a 20-plus point advantage through the first half of the second frame.  At the eight-minute mark, Chris Childs registered a steal and found Burrell for the dunk, making it 66-34 in favor of the Lions.  Less than two minutes later, Burrell dropped the ball off for Cole as he joined the dunk party.
 
Jacob Tracey knocked down a three-point bucket at the 5:52 mark to give Lindenwood a 33-point lead.  Lindenwood closed out the game by holding the Prairie Fire scoreless in the final three minutes, securing the final home non-conference win of the season.  Burrell registered a double-double on Saturday, as he efficiently shot 5-of-10 from the field, and pulled down six offensive boards.
 
Cole and Childs each registered 12 points, as Cole hit 6-of-8 from the floor, making all six of his shots from inside the arc.  Tommie Williams led the team with 14 points, as he was 5-of-6 from the field.  Lindenwood shared the ball well, totaling 14 assists, while the Lions played lock-down defense by collecting 16 steals and forcing Knox into 21 turnovers.
 
QUOTABLE
"It was good to be back on the court after a long layoff," said head coach Kyle Gerdeman.  "I thought we've done a good job with the break of working hard, and I was really pleased with the focused effort we played with today."
 
GAME LEADERS
Tommie Williams (14 PTS, 3 REB, 4 STL, 2 AST)
Cam Burrell (10 PTS, 10 REB, 4 STL, 3 AST)
Keenon Cole (12 PTS, 6 REB, 1 BLK)
David Ware (7 PTS, 11 REB, 1 STL)
Chris Childs (12 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL)
 
UP NEXT
Lindenwood will fly out to Utah to play a pair of games starting with a 7:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. Central) tipoff in Provo, Utah on Tuesday as the Lions take on BYU.