The Lindenwood men's basketball team (5-9, 0-1 OVC) lost to Eastern Illinois (5-9, 1-0 OVC) by a final of 55-54 on Thursday evening in Charleston Ill.
 
GAME OVERVIEW
Lindenwood fell behind early in the opening half, but stayed within striking distance.  At the 9:30 mark, Keenon Cole knocked down a three-point shot to make it a 17-15 deficit.  The Panthers went on to take an 11-point advantage, but the Lions continued to claw back.  The two squads traded three pointers near the two-minute mark, and the Lions closed out the half on a high note.  Cam Burrell scored the final five points of the half to make it a 32-28 lead for the Panthers.
 
David Ware played quality ball on both sides of the court, as he notched four points to bring the Lions within two points.  Chris Childs hit a jumper to tie the game at 34-34 with 15:54 to go in regulation.  Less than a minute later, Burrell made both of his free throws to give the Lions its first lead since early in the opening frame.
 
Eastern Illinois forced the Lions into turnovers to take a lead, but a three-point bucket by Childs brought the game to 44-43 at the halfway point.  Both teams went back-and-forth, as the Lions continued to stay right with the Panthers.  At the 1:20 mark, Kevin Caldwell Jr. hit a three to make it a one-point deficit.  With the Lions down 55-54 in the final seconds, Lindenwood missed a three-point attempt, and the second chance effort fell just short in the road loss on Thursday.
 
QUOTABLE
"Tough loss tonight in our OVC opener on the road," said head coach Kyle Gerdeman.  "I thought our guys hung in there well over the course of 40 minutes, and continued to battle and make plays.  We had a good opportunity at the buzzer and just came up short."
 
GAME LEADERS
Cam Burrell (17 PTS, 11 REB, 3 BLK, 2 STL, 1 AST)
Jacob Tracey (9 PTS, 2 REB, 5 STL, 3 AST)
Keenon Cole (8 PTS, 9 REB, 2 BLK)
 
UP NEXT
Lindenwood will return to Hyland Arena on Saturday to host Tennessee Tech for a New Year's Eve matchup at 3:30 p.m. in St. Charles, Mo.