JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team shot .574 from the floor and made 10 three-pointers to defeat Northwest Missouri, 79-74, on Friday night (Dec. 18). Northwest Missouri entered the game ranked No. 25 in the country in the latest NABC Division II poll, but the Blue Tigers forced 10 turnovers and held the Bearcats to .357 shooting from long range as Lincoln improved to 7-3 overall, 3-1 in the MIAA and 5-0 at home.

Jaylon Smith led LU with 27 points on 10-for-13 shooting, including hitting six of his eight attempts from three-point range. Smith also grabbed four rebounds to go with an assist and a steal. Anthony Virdure added 19 points and posted team-highs in rebounds (six) and assists (six) while tallying two steals. Richie Lewis also scored in double figures for Lincoln, totaling 14 points to go with four boards, three steals, a block and an assist.

Northwest Missouri (6-3, 4-1 MIAA) started the game hot, taking a 19-7 lead with 10:54 to play in the half. Virdure hit an and-one following a successful three to pull LU to within eight, but NWMSU responded with a quick trey to retake an 11-point advantage. A jumper from Virdure sparked Lincoln onto a 14-4, with a trey by Lewis giving Lincoln its first lead of the game, 25-24, with 4:51 to go until halftime.

The Bearcats made another three to get back on top, but Smith hit a trey of his own to swing the one-point advantage back to Lincoln. Layups by Smith and Lewis worked the LU lead up to five, but the Bearcats closed the half on an 11-5 run, with a buzzer-beating jumper giving Northwest Missouri a 38-37 lead at halftime.

The Blue Tigers scored the first five points of the second half, but NWMSU found a way to regain the lead, 47-44, by the first media timeout. Smith took over at that point, scoring the next seven points of the game to give Lincoln a lead it would never relinquish. The Blue Tigers never led by more than seven, but kept the Bearcats from coming any closer than within three points over the game's final seven minutes. Lincoln finished with a 29-26 advantage in rebounding and made six free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

O'Shai Clark scored nine for Lincoln and grabbed four rebounds, blocked a shot, dished an assist and recorded a steal. Aaron Spudich was next with six points while Rod Ollison and Tacourrus Mattox each finished with two points and four rebounds. Mattox also dished a pair of assists while Spudich pulled down two rebounds and Ollison had a block.

The Blue Tigers will try to improve to 6-0 at home on Sunday (Dec. 20), as Lincoln closes the calendar year by hosting Missouri Western at 3:30 p.m. CST. All members of the Boys & Girls Club will receive free admission to that contest, as will all local players who attended one of Coach John Moseley's or Coach Nicole Collier's basketball camps this past summer.