Burrell drops double-double in men’s basketball OVC loss

The Lindenwood men’s basketball team (5-9, 0-1 OVC) lost to Eastern Illinois (5-9, 1-0 OVC) in the finals 55-54 Thursday night in Charleston Ill.

GAME OVERVIEW

Lindenwood fell behind early in the first half but stayed within striking distance. At 9:30 a.m., Keenon Cole knocked down a three-point shot to make it 17-15. The Panthers took an 11-point lead, but the Lions kept clawing back. The two teams traded three pointers near the two-minute mark, and the Lions ended the half on a high. Cam Burrell scored the final five points of the half to give the Panthers a 32-28 lead.

David Ware played quality ball on both sides of the court as he scored four points to put the Lions within two points. Chris Childs hit a jumper to tie the game at 34-34 with 15:54 to go in the game. Less than a minute later, Burrell made both free throws to give the Lions their first lead since the start of the opening frame.

Eastern Illinois forced the Lions to take the lead, but Child’s three-point bucket made it 44-43 at the half. The two teams went back and forth with the Lions still staying right with the Panthers. at 1:20, Kevin Caldwell Jr. hit a three to make it a one point deficit. With the Lions trailing 55-54 in the final seconds, Lindenwood missed a 3-pointer and a second-chance attempt fell just short in Thursday’s road loss.

WORTH QUOTING

“Tough loss tonight in our OVC opener on the road,” the head coach said Kyle Gerdeman. “I thought our guys hung in there well for 40 minutes and kept fighting and making plays. We had a good opportunity at the buzzer and came up short.”

GAME DIRECTORS
Cam Burrell (17 PTS, 11 REB, 3 BLK, 2 STL, 1 AST)
Jacob Tracey (9 PTS, 2 REB, 5 STL, 3 AST)
Keenon Cole (8 PTS, 9 REB, 2 BLK)

NEXT

Lindenwood returns to Hyland Arena on Saturday to host Tennessee Tech for a New Year’s Eve game at 3:30 pm in St. Charles, Mo.