USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Lindenwood men's basketball (2-3, 0-0 OVC) captured their first win at the Air Force Classic after defeating the University of Nebraska at Omaha (2-3, 0-0 SL) by a final score of 72-70. The Lions shot 47.3% from the field on 26-55 shooting.

"Back to back really good team efforts, this one fortunately resulted in a win," said head coach Kyle Gerdeman. "Our guys earned it. We had five guys in double figures and our best defensive effort of the year came in this one. I am happy for our guys."

Colin Ruffin was the hero off the bench for Lindenwood. With eight seconds remaining in the game, Ruffin pulled up from the left side and sank a shot to put Lindenwood up three points. He would then hit a free throw with five seconds left to ice the game for the Lions. He finished with 10 points on 4-6 shooting.

Keenon Cole continued his streak of scoring double-digits to start the season after scoring 19 on Friday against the Mavericks. Cole went 6-14 shooting along with knocking down six of his eight foul shots. He also grabbed a season high eight rebounds in the win.

Lindenwood and Omaha traded baskets to start the game and were tied at 6-6 early on. Darius Beane continued to impress with his pull-up jumper scoring four early points off that play. Beane ended the game with 10 points and three assists.
 
Omaha went on a 7-0 run to go up 13-6 with just over 13 minutes to go in the first half. They would extend their lead to 18-9 before Beane hit another jumper to cut the lead to seven.
 
The Mavericks went 15-32 in the first half making four threes along the way. Lindenwood made 14-33 shots connecting on three triples. LU's defense also had five steals turning that into 11 points off turnovers.
 
With 1:34 left through the first 20 minutes of play, Keith Haymon II made a three off a Mavericks' turnover to cut the lead to eight. Ruffin then attacked the basket twice with under a minute left to give LU the momentum heading into halftime. After Omaha made it a seven point game, the Lions got a steal from Cole who then scored a layup with 0.4 left on the clock to cut the lead to five.

The Lions continued that momentum into the first couple minutes of the second half with six straight points to take their first lead since the 6-4 mark in the first half. Cole scored four early points in the second to get the Lindenwood's offense moving.

Both big men for the Lions had career days as they punished Omaha underneath. Jaylon McDaniel had a season high 12 points while making four of his six shots. Isaac Ondekane also scored in double-digits adding 11 points and six rebounds. Ondekane had two key baskets late in the game for LU. Lindenwood had 36 points in the paint.

The Lions started to pull away from Omaha with just over 6:00 minutes remaining. After being tied at 53-53, Lindenwood went on a 10-0 scoring run while also forcing Omaha to turn the ball over four times in that stretch. They also held them without a field goal for over four minutes.

The Mavericks would get it as close as 69-68 before Ruffin shined in the big moment creating a little separation with three points. Lindenwood fouled with 2.7 seconds left after being up three points. After a first make foul shot, Omaha's Marcel Bryant missed the second and secured Lindenwood's second win of the season.

Frankie Fidler was the leading scorer for Omaha with 19 points while JJ White added 13 off the bench. The Mavericks drop to 2-3 on the season after defeating William & Mary yesterday during their opening round matchup at the Air Force Classic.

Lindenwood will end their time in Colorado on Sunday, Nov. 18 as they take on the Tribe of William & Mary at 12:30 p.m. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.