JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Anthony Virdure hit a three-pointer with five seconds remaining to send the game into overtime, and scored five points in the extra period to help the Lincoln men's basketball clinch a postseason berth with a 96-91 win over Southwest Baptist on Wednesday (Feb. 24).

Lincoln had a two-point, 42-40 lead at halftime, and led 60-53 with 10:39 to play in regulation. Southwest Baptist closed the gap to two on a jumper, but an old-fashioned three-point play by Tacourrus Mattox gave Lincoln a five-point cushion. The Bearcats responded by sinking a three that began an 8-2 run that gave SBU a 66-64 advantage with 5:29 to play, but a layup from Mattox knotted the score back up by the game's final media timeout.

SBU hit a pair of free throws out of the break to re-take the lead, and was up by as many as six with 1:36 left in the contest. Jaylon Smith scored four-straight points to pull LU to within two, but a pair of free throws by the Bearcats put Lincoln back in a four-point deficit. The teams then exchanged free throws before a trey by Smith pulled Lincoln to within one, 81-80, with 20.1 seconds remaining. Smith ended up leading all scorers with 32 points and grabbed a pair of rebounds to go with a steal and an assist.

The Blue Tigers quickly fouled Southwest Baptist, and SBU made both shots at the line to go back up by three. Lincoln then inbounded the ball and got it across the timeline to Virdure, who launched a shot from three-point land that hit nothing but the net, tying the game at 83 with five seconds left. Southwest Baptist had one last shot at a game-winner, but a jumper bounced off the rim, sending the large and energetic Jason Gym crowd into a frenzy and the contest into overtime.

Mattox gave LU the first lead of the extra period with a layup, and a free throw by Richie Lewis and a two-pointer from Virdure eventually gave the Blue Tigers an 88-84 advantage. Lincoln never trailed in the overtime period, though a three-pointer by SBU made it a one-point affair with just under three minutes to play. Both teams were hot from behind the arc, with the Bearcats shooting .565 from long range and the Blue Tigers shooting .462, and the two teams combined to sink 25 treys on the evening.

Virdure, who finished with 21 points, six assists, four rebounds and a pair of blocks, made a three-point shot to put the Blue Tigers back up by four, and Smith later made a pair of free throws to give LU a 93-87 lead. After SBU went 1-and-1 at the line, Smith hit two more shots at the charity stripe to push the advantage up to seven. The Bearcats made one last three to cut the deficit down to 95-91, but a free throw from Lewis gave the Blue Tigers a five-point victory.

Lewis filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, nine assists, six steals, four rebounds and a pair of blocks. Mattox, meanwhile, finished with a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds to go with 13 points, two assists, a block and a steal. O'Shai Clark made it five Blue Tigers in double figures with 15 points, five rebounds and three steals.

Aaron Spudich rounded out the scoring with three points, three boards and a steal while DeAnthony Wilson also had a rebound for LU. Rod Ollison also represented LU on the court as one of the Blue Tigers' starters.

The win improves Lincoln to 14-13 on the season and 10-11 in MIAA play. The 14 victories are the most for an LU team since the Blue Tigers went 14-12 in 2001-02. The 10 conference wins, meanwhile, are the most for Lincoln in MIAA play since 1980-81. The victory also guarantees that the Blue Tigers will make their first appearance in the MIAA Postseason Tournament since 1986-87, with that year also marking the last time that the Blue Tigers qualified for the postseason. Southwest Baptist, meanwhile, falls to 10-17 overall and 5-16 in league play.

The Blue Tigers will have one final chance to improve their tournament seeding on Saturday (Feb. 27), when Lincoln closes the regular season by hosting Lindenwood at 3:30 p.m. CST. It will be Senior Day, with Wilson and Jeremy Jackson playing for the final time in Jason Gym. It will also be Alumni Weekend, with all former LU basketball players receiving free admission to the game. Lincoln's Student Athlete Advisory Committee will also be hosting a fundraiser, as LU students will be able to get into the game by either bringing two canned food items to donate to the Salvation Army or a dollar to donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.