The Lindenwood men's basketball team (6-9, 1-1 OVC) earned its first conference victory of the season with an 82-64 win over Tennessee Tech (4-11, 0-2 OVC) on Saturday afternoon inside Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
 
GAME OVERVIEW
The Lions fell behind early, as the Golden Eagles held a 9-4 advantage in the first five minutes of the game.  Cam Burrell flipped the momentum on a put-back dunk to make it a three-point spread.  A minute later, Keenon Cole drained a three-point bucket to give the Lions their first lead of the game at 10-9.  At the 7:20 mark, Cole hit another deep shot to give Lindenwood a 23-18 lead.  Cole went on to make a three pointer on the next two possessions as he was hot shooting the ball.
 
Inside the two-minute mark of the opening half, Chris Childs made a layup to put the Lions in front by double-digits.  Lindenwood led by a margin of 45-34 to close out the opening 20 minutes of play.  Cole was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field, including 4-of-4 from behind the arc.
 
In the early part of the second half, Burrell hit a shot from three-point range to keep the momentum rolling.  Burrell put the Lions up 59-49 near the 13-minute mark to keep the margin manageable.  Jacob Tracey gave Lindenwood a substantial lead with a three pointer, making it a 77-59 lead.  The Lions rolled to their first OVC victory on Saturday by a final of 82-64 over Tennessee Tech.
 
QUOTABLE
"Great team win for us tonight, everyone played a role," said head coach Kyle Gerdeman.  "Exciting to get our first OVC win in front of a great crowd.  We are continuing to improve win or lose, and that's the best part."
 
GAME LEADERS
Keenon Cole (23 PTS, 7 REB, 2 STL, 8-of-10 FG)
Cam Burrell (19 PTS, 11 REB, 3 AST, 3 BLK, 1 STL, 9-of-14 FG)
Kevin Caldwell Jr. (14 PTS, 6 AST, 4 REB)
 
UP NEXT
Lindenwood heads to Little Rock, Ark. on Wednesday to take on Little Rock at 7:30 p.m.