JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Four Blue Tigers scored in double-figures as the Lincoln men's basketball team rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Fort Hays State, 76-70, on Saturday (Jan. 9).

Jaylon Smith scored 21 points, all on three-pointers, to lead Lincoln while Richie Lewis accounted for 18 points, seven assists, four steals, four rebounds and a block. Smith also grabbed four boards for LU, and came up with a steal, one of eight on the day by the Blue Tigers. Anthony Virdure scored 15, and tied for the team-high with six rebounds while dishing four assists. Aaron Spudich, meanwhile, finished with 12 points and five boards.

Lincoln (10-5, 6-3 MIAA) took an early 5-0 lead after an old-fashioned three-point play by Lewis, but Fort Hays State (11-4, 5-4 MIAA) responded by scoring the next eight. A trey by Smith would later give LU a 12-10 lead, but a long-range basket by FHSU returned the lead to Fort Hays State. Virdure tied the score at 15 with another three, but FHSU once again responded with a trey to take a lead with 11 minutes to go in the half. Both teams were hot from long distance, combining to sink 21 treys, with Lincoln accounting for 11 of those buckets.

The Blue Tigers would trail until the 5:41 mark of the first half, when Smith drained yet another three to put LU on top, 27-26. Fort Hays State out-scored the Blue Tigers 10-7 the rest of the period, sending the game into halftime with FHSU on top, 36-34.

A pair of free throws from Lewis briefly gave LU a 41-39 advantage early in the second half, but Fort Hays State stormed back to take a 10-point lead with 12 minutes remaining. Spudich started Lincoln's comeback with a layup, and later capped an 18-4 Lincoln run by hitting another layup after grabbing an offensive board to give the Blue Tigers a 66-62 lead. Lincoln would never trail again after that point, as the Blue Tigers led by as many as nine with just under a minute to play before leaving Jason Gym with the six-point win.

Tacourrus Mattox grabbed six rebounds and scored five points while registering an assist, a steal and LU's other block. O'Shai Clark contributed five points, five boards and a pair of assists to the Lincoln cause while Rod Ollison and Jeremy Jackson also represented LU on the court.

With the win, Lincoln now has 10 victories on the season for the first time since 2001-02. LU is also now 7-1 in Jason Gym, the most home victories by a Lincoln team since that same 2000-01 season.

The Blue Tigers will be on the road for their next two contests, starting on Thursday (Jan. 14), when Lincoln travels to Bolivar, Mo. to play Southwest Baptist. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CST.