JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team out-scored Pittsburg State 43-31 in the second half to rally from a 13 point deficit and beat the Gorillas, 71-65, on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 10).

Anthony Virdure led the Blue Tigers with 29 points, including 16 from the free throw line, and dished three assists while Jaylon Smith provided 12 points, three steals, three boards, two blocks and a pair of assists. Maurice Mason added seven points and seven rebounds.

Pittsburg State (1-10, 0-4 MIAA) made seven three-pointers in the first half, including one that put the Gorillas up, 10-9, with 13:11 left in the first half. Pittsburg State would not trail again in the first half, as a 16-4 run put the Gorillas ahead 29-16 with six minutes until the intermission. The Gorillas led 32-20 with four minutes to go, but Lincoln (7-3, 1-1 MIAA) closed the half on an 8-2 run, capped by a trey from Mason, to send the game into halftime down just 34-28.

The Gorillas built a 49-37 lead early in the second half, but a layup from Virdure sparked Lincoln onto a 14-3 run to pull LU to within 52-51 with 8:27 remaining. A three-pointer by Pittsburg State delayed LU's comeback, but Mason responded with a three-pointer of his own to get the Blue Tigers back within one. Tacourrus Mattox then gave Lincoln its first lead of the second half with a pair of free throws, and three-straight points by Virdure gave LU a four-point lead it would never relinquish. PSU got the LU lead down to two on several occasions, but Lincoln made seven of its final eight free throws to seal the victory.

Mattox scored eight points, grabbed four rebounds and blocked two shots. Chase Morfeld tallied seven points and three boards while Darrius Spencer chipped in three free throws. O'Shai Clark contributed four assists, two boards and a free throw to the winning effort, and Richie Lewis and Alexander Nailes each added two points and a pair of rebounds.

Lincoln will have seven days until its next contest, as the Blue Tigers visit Emporia, Kan. to play Emporia State next Saturday (Dec. 10) at 7:30 p.m. CST.