JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Anthony Virdure became the Lincoln men's basketball team's 21st 1,000-point scorer, but the Blue Tigers lost to Central Missouri, 66-64, on Wednesday evening (Jan. 18).

Virdure entered the night needing 22 points to reach 1,000 for his Lincoln career, and finished with a game-high 25 to go with four assists and three rebounds. Virdure becomes the first Blue Tiger to reach 1,000 points since Cedric Ridle, Jr. accomplished the feat with 1,225 points between 2010-13.

Central Missouri (11-5, 5-3 MIAA) took a 34-29 lead into halftime and led by as many as 14 with 11:25 remaining. A trey from Virdure and a pair of free throws by Richie Lewis brought the Lincoln (12-6, 5-4 MIAA) deficit down to 52-43, but UCM hit a jumper to go back up by 11. Free throws from Rod Ollison and an old-fashioned three-point play by Tacourrus Mattox pulled LU to within 56-50, and Virdure later sank a three-pointer to make it a 62-57 ballgame with just under two minutes to play.

The Mules hit a trey to go back up by eight, but the Blue Tigers went on a 7-1 run to close out the contest. Another trey by Virdure, who hit five on the evening, cut the deficit back down to five, and Jaylon Smith drained a pair of free throws to bring Lincoln to within 65-62. The Blue Tigers fouled UCM on its ensuing possession, sending the Mules to the line for a one-and-one, but the first free throw was no good and O'Shai Clark grabbed the rebound.

UCM fouled quickly before Lincoln could get off a shot, however, and Virdure made both shots at the line to make it a one-point game with just over four seconds to play. The Blue Tigers were forced to foul again, and Central Missouri made its first shot from the charity stripe to go ahead, 66-64. The second shot was no good, and Mattox pulled down the rebound to give Lincoln one last chance. Virdure got a good look at a three-pointer, but it ricocheted off the rim, allowing the Mules to escape with the win.

The Blue Tigers shot just .354 from the floor and .346 from three-point range, while Central Missouri shot .522 overall to become just the second team to make at least half of its shot attempts against LU this season. Both teams finished with 26 rebounds, but Lincoln forced the Mules into 16 turnovers to remain in the game. Lincoln also took advantage of 21 successful free throws while Central Missouri made 13 of its 18 tries from the line.

Maurice Mason had 12 points and four rebounds for the Blue Tigers while Lewis added 10 points, five boards and three steals. Smith also had three takeaways and added nine points to go with four rebounds, an assist and a block.

Mattox chipped in five points and Ollison closed the scoring with three points, three boards and an assist. Clark finished with a rebound and an assist while Chase Morfeld also represented LU on the court.

The Blue Tigers will try to get back in the win column on Saturday (Jan. 21) as Lincoln hosts Southwest Baptist in Jason Gym at 3:30 p.m. CST. That will be Lincoln's annual Think Pink Game, and fans are invited to join the Blue Tigers in wearing pink to show support for cancer survivors.