Keenon Cole scores 42 as Lindenwood gets revenge on SEMO

Lindenwood’s season ended against Southeast Missouri State in the Ohio Valley Conference last year with Keenon Cole not making a single basket.

He waited for this moment and got revenge by scoring a career high 42 points to lead the Lions past the Redhawks 74-68 on Thursday, Jan. 11, at the Show Me Center.

“This game was definitely marked on the calendar and I couldn’t wait to come out here and give my all,” Cole said.

The senior forward scored 20 points in the first half alone. The Lions went to halftime leading 34-29 after making four free throws during the final three seconds. The game was within a point with the Lions leading 14-13 in the 13th minute of the first half. For the next four minutes, it was the Cole show, who scored all of Lindenwood’s points as the lead was stretched to 28-21 with 2:28 remaining in the first half.

“We just backed up and just gave him layups and did some undisciplined things,” SEMO head coach Brad Korn said. “Just a huge lack of toughness, quite honestly. He was was tougher than us.”

Southeast Missouri State's Braxton Stacker leaps to slam a dunk against Lindenwood on Thursday, Jan. 11, at the Show Me Center.Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

The Lions went on a 7-0 run to start the second half and extend to 41-29 in the first three minutes. They maintained a double-digit lead through the rest of the second half, as Cole accounted for 13 of the Lions’ final 14 points in the last 5:38 minutes of the game.

Cole shot 13-of-23 field goals, including 3-of-6 from the three-point line and 13-of-16 from the free-throw line.

“He got a ton of confidence,” Korn said of Cole. “You have easy shots at the rim and his confidence just continued to grow and we could not keep him out of the paint.”

Along with Cole, Lindenwood senior guard Darius Beane also scored 20 points, entirely on mid-range shots with a pair of free throws.

“Two guys beat us,” Korn said. “We never made them uncomfortable so it’s just disappointing and unfortunate.”

Josh Early led the Redhawks with 16 points, while Rob Martin, Braxton Stacker and Evan Eursher each scored 11 points, his second consecutive double-digit game.

The Redhawks (6-11, 1-3) will travel to take on Tennessee Tech.on Saturday, Jan. 13.

__Former Huskies leading the pack__

Before Beane and Cole was leading Lindenwood as its only two double-digit scorers, the duo first played together at Northern Illinois for two seasons from 2019-21. While Beane was getting starter’s minutes and averaging as much as 9.7 points per game in 2021, Cole rode the pine and didn’t start a game until last year with the Lions.

Both players went their separate ways after 2021 for a year before reuniting last year. Cole played juco ball at Polk State College during the 2021-22 season before joining Lindenwood in time for its new era as a Division I program. Beane transferred to California State Northridge that same year before finishing his college career at Lindenwood.

Through that duo, the Lions (7-9, 1-2) are looking to climb the OVC ladder and earn a spot back in the conference tournament.

“We started 0-2, so I’d say the fact that we’re able to come out here and persevere the way we do and get a tough road win shows a lot about our team that we’re never going to give up,” Cole said.

Lindenwood forward Jaylon McDaniel and Southeast Missouri State's Adam Larson reaches for the tip-off on Thursday, Jan. 11, at the Show Me Center.Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

__The rivalry is real__

Whether the Redhawks fan base likes it or not, it’s the closest thing they will get to a rivalry.

Before Lindenwood made the jump from Division II to DI, SEMO had Southern Illinois as a historic rival. Although that rivalry means everything in football, where the outcome of that game has been a predictor of the Redhawks’ season.

The basketball version of the rivalry has been a way to get the season started. This year, the two schools only played during the women’s basketball season. That leaves the Lions as the only rival on the schedule for SEMO.

A rivalry can’t be forced through geographical lines. It has to be felt by the student fan bases and thus through the players. Winning the rivalry game needs to matter more than the game before and after, and doubly so goes for being on the losing end.

As a new member of the DI ranks, Lindenwood is clearly on-board with a rivalry with SEMO.

“I know what this game can mean to a lot of people, a lot of hype around it,” Cole said. “So it definitely feels good to do it against SEMO . This is a team that beat us in the OVC Tournament last year. It’s important.”

Last year, SEMO won the first game at home but lost Round 2 on the road the week before the OVC Tournament, where the rubber match took place. Just as revenge fueled the Lions last year, so should SEMO be when the two teams meet again in St. Charles on Jan. 30.

“Rivalry games are always something that brings your energy level to a 10 because both teams want to win,” SEMO senior forward Josh Early said. “This game sets us up for a comeback when we play them again later down the line at Lindenwood this year.”