JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team led by four at halftime, but a stout defensive effort in the second half allowed Lindenwood to hand the Blue Tigers a 76-67 loss on Saturday (Feb. 11). The contest was Senior Day for Lincoln, and O'Shai Clark, Richie Lewis, Tacourrus Mattox, Rod Ollison, Jaylon Smith and Anthony Virdure were honored prior to the start of the contest.

In his final regular season home game with the Blue Tigers, Virdure led all scorers with 22 points and dished three assists while tallying three steals, a block and a rebound. Joining Virdure in double figures were Smith and Lewis, who each chipped in 13. Smith additionally led LU with four assists and recorded a steal while Lewis grabbed four rebounds to go with a pair of steals and an assist.

Lincoln (14-10, 7-8 MIAA) shot .609 from the floor in the first half en route to a 41-37 halftime advantage. The Blue Tigers limited Lindenwood (18-10, 7-8 MIAA) to just three made treys in 14 attempts (.214) over the game's first 20 minutes, though the Lions shot .500 from the floor. In the second half, however, Lindenwood shot .520 from the floor and forced Lincoln into 10 turnovers while holding a 39-26 edge in points. For the game, the Blue Tigers gave the ball away 19 times while forcing the Lions into just 11 turnovers.

With 15:34 remaining in the second half, Clark hit a layup to put the Blue Tigers up, 52-47. The Lions answered with a three-pointer that sprung them onto a 13-0 run, with Virdure finally ending it with a trey with 11:32 to play. Lewis made a layup to close the gap down to 60-57, but the Blue Tigers were held to just 10 points the rest of the way. Clark ended his day with nine points, seven rebounds, a steal and an assist.

Mattox led the Blue Tigers with eight rebounds and scored six points while tallying two assists and a block. Ollison and Maurice Mason each scored two points, with Ollison additionally securing two rebounds. Mason had one board and an assist.

The Blue Tigers will close the 2016-17 season with four-consecutive road games, beginning on Tuesday night (Feb. 14) with a rematch at Lindenwood. Tip-off in St. Charles, Mo. is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CST.