JOPLIN, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to take a second-half lead, but Missouri Southern escaped with an 80-76 win over the Blue Tigers on Thursday (Dec. 7).

The two teams combined to make 26 three-pointers, with the Blue Tigers shooting .600 from beyond the arc. John Burton made five of those long distance shots and led five LU players in double figures with 19 points. Marquise Williams nearly had his fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and nine boards.

Missouri Southern (3-5, 1-2 MIAA) opened the game on a 10-4 run and took a 29-10 advantage with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half. Burton scored the next five points, and Lincoln (5-4, 0-1 MIAA) clawed back to within six on a Calvin Chambers layup with 3:52 left on the clock. The Lions recovered to out-score the Blue Tigers, 9-4, to take a 45-34 lead at the break.

The Lions led by as many as 14 early in the second half, but a Maurice Mason layup with 13:31 to play sprung Lincoln onto a 13-0 run that gave the Blue Tigers a 62-59 lead with 10 minutes remaining. Mason, who finished with 11 points, eight boards and six assists, later made a free throw to give LU a 67-66 advantage with just under seven to play.

Missouri Southern responded with one final big run of its own, scoring the next nine points of the ballgame to take control of the contest. The Blue Tigers would roar back to cut the MSSU lead down to two within the final seconds, but the Lions prevented LU from completing the comeback.

Chambers finished with 16 points, seven assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals, and Amariontez Ivory contributed 13 points and four boards. Grant Olsson rounded out the scoring with five points, and Zack Fields came off the bench to secure three rebounds.

Lincoln next heads to Pittsburg, Kan. on Saturday (Dec. 9) to play Pittsburg State at 3:30 p.m. CST.