Game 30
Lindenwood (16-13, 10-8 OVC)
vs. Eastern Illinois (11-18, 7-11 OVC)
Game Information:
Date: Thursday, February 26, 2026.
Location: St. Charles, Mo.
Venue: Hyland Arena
Tip-off: 7:30 PM CT
All-Time Series: 2-5
Last Meeting: W, 82-74
Live Stats: Lindenwood vs Eastern Illinois
Watch: ESPN+

Last Time Out
Lindenwood Men's Basketball fell on Saturday at Tennessee Tech by a final score of 72-57. Mekhi Cooper led the Lions with 15 points at TTU knocking down a career-high five threes and tying his season high in points against the Golden Eagles. Jadis Jones also tied his career-high for rebounds in a game as the Sophomore pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds and was two points shy of notching his eighth double-double of the 2025-26 season. 

In the last matchup against EIU, Lindenwood started off OVC play 1-0 with an 82-74 win on the road. It was the Lions first ever win in Charleston, Ill and LU was led in scoring by Jones, who scored a game-high 23 points on 9-12 shooting from the floor and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in the victory over the Panthers back on December 6, 2025.  


Scouting The Panthers
The Panthers are currently sitting in ninth place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings and are still in contention for the eight and/or seven seeds of the conference tournament with two regular season games left. EIU is led offensively by Senior Guard Zion Fruster who is averaging just over 15 points per game this season. Fruster has scored in double figures in 14 of 18 conference games played and just recently scored a season-high 28 points on Saturday shooting 12-19 from the floor as the Panthers fell to Southern Indiana at home by a score of 70-68. Defensively, the Panthers rank fourth in the OVC during conference play in steals (147), points allowed per game (69.4), and defensive three point percentage (31.6%). 

Stats to Know

• Mekhi Cooper has scored in double figures in four out of his last seven games played. 
• Jadis Jones has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 10 out of 24 games played this season. His 8.3 rebounds per game ranks second overall in the OVC. 
• Dontrez Williams ranks second overall in the OVC with 64 steals on the season. His 2.6 steals per game this season ranks him seventh overall in the country. 
• Cooper leads the Lions with 118 assists which ranks him fourth overall in the OVC. 

Up Next
The Lions will wrap up the regular season at Western Illinois on Saturday afternoon. Tip off from Western Hall is set for 3:30 p.m. CT.