The Lindenwood men's basketball team (9-17, 4-9 OVC) lost 63-58 to SIUE (17-9, 8-5 OVC) on Thursday night from Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
 
GAME OVERVIEW
The Lions came out hot to start the game, as Kevin Caldwell Jr. hit a three pointer at the 17:08 mark to give Lindenwood a 7-0 lead.  Jacob Tracey put the Lions up 12-2 two minutes later on a three-point shot as the fans increased their volume.  At the halfway point, David Ware made back-to-back buckets to make it an 18-8 Lindenwood lead.  Near the end of the half, SIUE was able to collect two more points as the Lions held a 30-28 advantage at the break.
 
The Cougars came out of the second half to quickly tie the game.  Lindenwood built its lead back up to four points after Tracey made a driving layup at the 17:21 mark.  SIUE clawed back and took a 41-36 lead with 15:30 remaining in the game.  With less than 10 minutes to go in regulation, SIUE increased its lead to eight points to grab momentum.  The Lions wasted little time cutting the deficit back to three points, but neither team could take control.
 
Lindenwood battled back, and made it a three-point game with 2:25 left on the clock.  Both teams went dry on offense for nearly two minutes, but Caldwell Jr. was able to pick up a steal and go to the line with 37 seconds remaining.  After knocking down one, the Cougars grabbed the rebound and held on for the road win over the Lions.
 
Caldwell Jr. had a strong night in his 29 minutes played.  The Alton, Ill. native scored 13 points and dished out four assists to lead the team.  Cam Burrell tallied 10 points with nine boards, while handing out three helpers.  Jacob Tracey went 5-of-9 from the field to post 12 points.  Lindenwood allowed 14 offensive rebounds, which led to 12 second-chance points for the Cougars.
 
QUOTABLE
"I really want to thank our students for coming out and giving us a great atmosphere tonight," said head coach Kyle Gerdeman.  "We would've loved to have given you a win.  Proud of our effort and growth to this point, and I look forward to the final run with these guys."
 
GAME LEADERS
Kevin Caldwell Jr. (13 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 2 BLK, 2 STL)
Cam Burrell (10 PTS, 9 STL, 3 AST, 1 BLK, 0 TO)
Jacob Tracey (12 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK)
 
UP NEXT
Lindenwood will hit the road on Saturday to take on Southern Indiana at 8:00 p.m. in Evansville, Ind.