ROLLA, Mo. - Missouri S&T launched a barrage of three-pointers to hand the Lincoln men's basketball team its first loss of the season on Wednesday night (Nov. 16). The Miners made 14 treys and held the Blue Tigers to just five as Missouri S&T claimed a 91-88 win.

The game went back-and-forth for most of the night, with the teams combining for eight lead changes and 14 ties. The final tie was broken with 1:33 to play, as Jaylon Smith made a layup to put the Blue Tigers ahead, 84-82. Smith came one rebound short of a second-straight double-double, finishing with 35 points, nine boards, an assist, a block and a steal.

Missouri S&T (2-0) answered with its 14th trey of the night on the ensuing possession, taking an 85-84 lead it would never relinquish. The game ended up being a free throw contest from that point forward, with Anthony Virdure chipping in LU's final two points of the night with seven seconds remaining. After a pair of free throws by the Miners, Lincoln (2-1) had one last chance at a tie, but an errant pass resulted in the game-deciding turnover.

Virdure ended his night with 26 points, five assists and three steals. Richie Lewis was next on the scoring chart for LU with seven points and five boards while Maurice Mason tallied six points and five rebounds.

The Blue Tigers shot .550 from the floor, but just .294 from beyond the arc and .810 from the line. Lincoln held a 50-27 advantage on points inside the paint, and out-rebounded the Miners, 34-30. Missouri S&T held a slight 8-10 edge in turnovers, scoring 13 points off those takeaways.

O'Shai Clark and Tacourrus Mattox each chipped in six points for the Blue Tigers, with Clark also finishing with three rebounds. Darrius Spencer grabbed three boards while Rod Ollison rounded out the scoring with two points and two boards.

Lincoln will travel to Kansas City, Mo. on Saturday (Nov. 19) to play Langston in the Battle of the LU's - Basketball Edition. That game, scheduled to be played at SE Fieldhouse, will tip off at 3:00 p.m. CST. Tickets cost $10 in advance, or $15 at the gate, and can be reserved by calling Dana Rice at (573)-681-5342.