SATURDAY'S SCORES
Lindenwood 78, @McNeese 60
@Bradley 73,
Southeast Missouri 60
SIUE 93, VMI 67 (Farmville, Va.)
LINDENWOOD 78, MCNEESE 60
LAKE CHARLES, La. - The Lindenwood men's basketball team (2-3) earned an impressive 78-60 win over McNeese State (1-3) on Saturday afternoon in Lake Charles, La.
The Lions got off to a slow start, as the Cowboys held a 5-0 lead just two minutes into the game. Kevin Caldwell Jr. knocked down a three pointer at the 16:39 mark to pull within two points, as the offense seemed to gain some momentum. Lindenwood took a lead on a Chris Childs three pointer, and the Lions turned up the heat after the halfway point of the first half. Brandon Trimble put the Lions up 27-16 after a long-range shot, as Lindenwood closed out the first half with a 35-27 lead.
David Ware kept the production going, as he registered the first five points of the second half. McNeese State pulled within eight points at the 13:06 mark, but Lindenwood played quality basketball down the stretch. In the final nine minutes of play, the Lions generated points off of turnovers to build a 22-point lead by 1:36 mark. Lindenwood held on for the 18-point victory on Saturday.
Childs led the Lions in scoring with 21 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. Childs made five three pointers in the game, and dished out two assists, while collecting a pair of steals. Caldwell Jr. efficiently put up 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Caldwell Jr. led the team with six assists, and tallied three steals on the defensive side of the court. Ware and Cam Burrell each put up 11 points, while Burrell added five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Jacob Tracey contributed seven points, pulled down a team-high eight boards, handed out a pair of assists, and secured two steals.
BRADLEY 73, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 60
PEORIA, Ill.- Chris Harris, Phillip Russell and Kobe Clark all scored double figures as Southeast Missouri (3-1) fell to its first loss of season, 73-60, at Missouri Valley Conference member Bradley (3-1) Saturday.
Harris scored 14 points, Russell added 13 and Clark followed with 10 for the Redhawks.
SEMO put together a strong first half shooting 53.8 percent (14-of-26) from the field but cooled off to shoot only 20 percent (6-of-30) in the game's final 20 minutes.
Tied, 18-18, the Redhawks went on a 9-2 run to take their largest lead of the game. Aquan Smart ignited the surge that ended with a 3-pointer by Harris that put SEMO ahead, 27-20, with 9:33 remaining in the first half.
BU managed to take a one-point lead at the 2:04 mark and later led, 42-36, at the half.
After the Braves stretched their lead to double figures, SEMO continued to chip away and got within four on a pair of Russell free throws. Russell's makes made it a 60-56 contest with 6:16 to go and that was as close as the Redhawks would get.
BU regained a double-digit advantage and did not let its lead dip below 10 for the final 2:42.
Three of Harris' four field goals came from 3-point range. He also made 3-of-4 free throws, grabbed five rebounds and had two assists.
Clark just missed a double-double falling a rebound shy. He notched nine rebounds to go along with his 10 points and collected three steals.
Russell was a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line for SEMO which hit 12-of-16 for the game.
BU outrebounded SEMO, 39-31, and shot at a 50 percent clip (27-of-54) from the floor.
SIUE 93, VMI 67
FARMVILLE, Va. - SIUE men's basketball won its second consecutive game Saturday, dominating VMI, for a 93-67 win in the JK54 Classic at Longwood.
The 93 points is a season-high for the Cougars, who improved to 3-2. VMI fell to 1-4.
Following an opening three-pointer from Shamar Wright, VMI scored the next 11 to lead by eight at the first media timeout. SIUE began chipping away but trailed 19-16 at the next timeout with 10:41 to play. VMI pushed it 21-16 when the Cougars took control with an 11-0 run. SIUE never looked back, finishing the half on a 30-6 run for a 46-27 advantage at the break.
SIUE's lead fell below 20 just once in the second half and it ballooned to as many as 30 at one point.
The Cougars shot 56 percent (18-32) from the field in the second half and 52 percent for the game. SIUE connected for a season-best 33 field goals and 13 three-pointers-the most for an SIUE team since Nov. 26, 2020, against LSU.
SIUE forced VMI into 24 turnovers-and scored 30 points as a result. The Cougars finished with 14 steals, the most ever for an SIUE team against a Division I opponent.
The Cougars also collected a season-high 19 assists while turning the ball over just nine times.
Lamar Wright led all scorers with a career-high 24 points. He was 8 for 13 overall and 4 for 6 from three-point range.
Ray'Sean Taylor scored 19 points and also knocked down four three-pointers.
Shamar Wright dished out a career-high 11 assists while scoring eight points and adding two steals.