The Lindenwood men's basketball team (7-10, 2-2 OVC) dropped its first home game of the season in a tough 60-57 loss to Tennessee State (10-7, 2-2 OVC) on Saturday afternoon inside Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
 
GAME OVERVIEW
The Lions started the game by playing tight defense, which eventually paid off in the offensive zone.  Keenon Cole made a pair of free throws inside 13 minutes to play, giving the Lions a 13-6 lead.  Tommie Williams made it a double-digit lead at the 9:52 mark after an offensive rebound.  The lead went to 15 points after Chris Childs drained a shot from downtown.  Tennessee State temporarily cut the Lindenwood lead to seven points, but Kevin Caldwell Jr. pulled up in the paint to make it a 32-18 lead at the half.
 
Lindenwood continued to hold double-digit lead through the first half of the second frame.  Cam Burrell gave the Lions a 45-34 lead at the 11:24 mark, but the Tigers began to claw back.  With 3:07, Tennessee State tied the game at 53-53.  Burrell was able to hit a jumper on the baseline to give the Lions a four-point advantage just one minute later, but the Tigers stayed close.  Lindenwood surrendered its lead with less than 30 seconds remaining as the Tigers came back to earn the road victory over the Lions.
 
Caldwell Jr. and Childs led the team with 15 points, while Cole posted 13 points.  Cole pulled down seven boards and compiled three blocks.  David Ware grabbed 12 rebounds to lead all players in the game, but the Tigers collected 16 offensive rebounds which aided in the win over Lindenwood.
 
QUOTABLE
"We couldn't put TSU away," said head coach Kyle Gerdeman.  "Give them a lot of credit.  Rebounding probably caught up with us in the long run.  But, there is still a lot of good we can take away.  We've been competitive through four games and we need to get ready for a challenging week ahead."
 
GAME LEADERS
Kevin Caldwell Jr. (15 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST)
Chris Childs (15 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL)
David Ware (4 PTS, 12 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL)
 
UP NEXT
Lindenwood will hit the road on Thursday to take on Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, Mo. for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.