TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - It was a close game for most of the afternoon, but Northeastern State closed the contest on a 16-6 run to hand the Lincoln men's basketball team a 93-81 loss on Saturday (Jan. 30).

Anthony Virdure led five Blue Tigers in double figures with 24 points while dishing a team-high six assists and grabbing four rebounds. Aaron Spudich posted a double-double, scoring scoring 12 and grabbing 11 rebounds. O'Shai Clark and Jaylon Smith each chipped in 15 points, with Clark also grabbing eight rebounds while Smith pulled down seven. Smith also dished two assists, recorded two steals and had a block.

Richie Lewis rounded out LU's double-digit scorers with 10 points, four steals and a pair of assists. Tacourrus Mattox scored three points and grabbed three boards while Darrius Spencer rounded out the scoring with two points and a pair of rebounds.

Northeastern State (6-13, 5-10 MIAA) led 22-12 halfway through the second period, but a 10-1 run allowed Lincoln (12-9, 8-7 MIAA) to take a 24-23 advantage with six minutes until halftime. Northeastern State would come back to knot the score at 26 before hitting a three to take a lead it would hold through the end of the half. The Blue Tigers went into the break down 45-39.

Lincoln came out strong in the second half, scoring nine of the first 12 points to tie the game at 48. A layup by Smith briefly gave Lincoln the lead, but the RiverHawks rallied to tie the score at 54 with 11:55 to play. A pair of Virdure free throws swung the scoreboard advantage back in LU's favor, and a layup by Spencer gave the Blue Tigers a four-point cushion.

The RiverHawks rallied yet again, however, sinking a three to go up 60-58 with 10 minutes to go. Spudich tied the game with a layup, and the contest would go on to feature three more ties, the last at 6:44 when a trey by Smith made it 67 all. Northeastern State took the lead for good on a three-pointer of its own, and the closest LU would get was 77-75 with 2:47 remaining, just before NSU's big end-game run.

Northeastern State shot .517 from the field and .545 from three-point land while holding the Blue Tigers to just 25-65 shooting (.385). Lincoln posted a 42-35 edge in rebounding but committed 16 turnovers while NSU had 14.

Lincoln will be back on the road next Thursday (Feb. 4), traveling to Maryville, Mo. to play Northwest Missouri at 7:30 p.m. CST