ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood men's basketball (5-6, 0-0 OVC) picked up one final non-conference victory over IU Indy (5-8, 1-2 HL) on Saturday by a final score of 81-63. The Lions had three double-digit scorers in the win and close out the non-conference with a 5-6 record before entering Ohio Valley Conference play next week.
"I think overall just really proud of our team tonight," said head coach
Kyle Gerdeman. "It was a really focused effort for 40 minutes. I thought we did a great job, they are a good team and very well-coached. They are hard to prepare for but I thought we did a really good job with our defensive focus."
Jaylon McDaniel had a break-out game for Lindenwood scoring a career-high 22 points. It marked the first time in his career at Lindenwood that he has scored over 20 points. McDaniel shot 9-12 from the floor while going 4-6 at the foul line. Lindenwood had 44 points in the paint on Saturday compared to just four by the Jaguars.
The Lions assisted on 17 of their 30 made field-goals in the win including six from
Reggie Bass. Bass ended the night with 14-points, his third straight game in double-figures, and added a season-high seven rebounds and six assists. Bass shot 3-6 from the floor including two threes and went 6-7 at the line.
Markeith Browning II also added five of Lindenwood's 17 assists. The graduate student was second on the team in points with 18 after shooting 8-19 from the floor and added another seven rebounds. Browning also led the team in steals with three. The Lions caused 12 turnovers against IU Indy which resulted in 21 points. LU also outscored the Jaguars in second chance points (11) and fast break points with 23.
Freshman duo
Jadis Jones and
Clayton Jackson each helped the Lions to their fifth win of the season. Jones led the team with nine rebounds including four on the offensive glass. LU out-rebounded IU Indy 40-25. Jackson was solid at the point guard position scoring seven points and adding three rebounds.
Nathan Johnson Jr. off the bench also added eight points including two threes.
It was a close game to start as the Lions led 9-8 at the 15-13 mark. McDaniel had four early points in the game while Browning added five. The Lions started the game shooting 4-8 (50.0% FG) from the floor while the Jaguars were 3-6.
Lindenwood would then go on a 5-0 to open up the lead to 14-8. IU Indy came out of the media timeout with a 6-0 run of their own to tie the game at 14, but a Johnson Jr. tip stopped the scoring run. LU took a 19-14 lead with under 10 to play after Browning's lone three of the game.
Jackson nailed a three with 7:10 remaining in the first half to open up a nine-point lead (28-19). After a small run by the Jaguars, Lindenwood went into the locker room up 39-29. LU shot 41.2% from the floor including 5-13 from three. The Lions' defense held IU Indy to 6-15 shoot from three as the Jaguars entered the game ranking 21st nationally with 10.5 made threes a game.
To start the second half, Lindenwood was a perfect 6-6 from the floor as they opened up a 51-35 lead. McDaniel scored 10 straight points before IU Indy called a timeout. With 13:04 remaining, the Jaguars cut the lead to eight points after a three by Jarvis Walker.
Lindenwood's offense led by Browning and Bass down the stretch provided a spark to push the lead past 20 points with under two minutes to play. The duo guard had six and eight points respectively in the second half while McDaniel had 18 points in the final 20 minutes. Lindenwood shot 61.5% in the second half including a perfect 7-7 from the foul line.
The Lions will start OVC play on Thursday, Dec. 19th inside Hyland Arena against Tennessee Tech at 7:30 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.
