BOLIVAR, Mo. - John Burton hit a trey with 12.1 seconds to play to give the Lincoln men's basketball team the lead, but Southwestern Oklahoma State hit a three in the final second to hand the Blue Tigers an 80-78 loss in the 2017-18 season opener for both teams on Friday (Nov. 10).

Amariontez Ivory led Lincoln with 29 points, Terrance Smith and Calvin Chambers each scored 14 and Burton chipped in nine. Smith and Ivory also had four rebounds apiece while Chambers added three steals and Burton tallied a pair of takeaways.

Southwestern Oklahoma State hit the first bucket of the game, but Lincoln answered with an 11-0 run to take an early 13-2 advantage. SWOSU didn't regain the lead until hitting a layup at the 10:55 mark, but a quick basket by Chambers followed by a jumper by Ivory put LU back up by three.

The Blue Tigers led by as many as eight with 6:41 left in the half, but an 11-0 run by the Bulldogs tied the game at 30 with 4:17 until halftime. Chambers hit a three to briefly give LU back the lead, but the Bulldogs scored the final 11 points of the half to take a 41-33 lead into halftime.

A trey by Ivory knotted the score at 45 early in the second half, but SWOSU went on another run to re-take the advantage, and led by as many as 11 with a 72-61 advantage with 6:06 to play. Ivory scored the next four points of the contest, and a Marquise Williams layup pulled Lincoln back within four with four minutes to go. Williams finished his day with six points, three blocks and a team-high eight rebounds.

A trey by the Bulldogs gave SWOSU a 77-71 cushion entering the final two minutes, but a free throw and a layup by Smith on back-to-back possessions cut that lead down to three. Following a steal, Chambers went 1-for-1 at the line to make it a two-point game, and Burton hit his lead-changing three following a Bulldog turnover. Lincoln forced 17 turnovers in the contest, shot .475 from the floor and .379 from three-point range, but was just 11-for-18 at the line.

Zack Fields and Grant Olsson each scored three points, with Fields also tallying an assist. Donte Makazu provided a rebound and an assist to the Lincoln cause.

The Blue Tigers will continue the 2017-18 season with a 2:00 p.m. CST contest against Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday (Nov. 11).