JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team used a big run in the second half to rally for a brief lead, but LeMoyne-Owen ended up holding off the Blue Tigers, 81-70, on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 17).

Lincoln (2-2) trailed by 11 less than a minute into the second half, and fell behind, 48-36, at the 18:30 mark. A layup from Grant Olsson and a trey by Jonell Burton pulled LU to within seven, and the Blue Tigers proceeded to score 11 of the next 15 points to tie the game at 52 with 12:35 to play.

LeMoyne-Owen (2-2) used a jumper to take back the lead, but Terrance Smith tied the game back up on a layup, and the Jonell Burton hit another three-pointer to give Lincoln a 57-54 advantage with 10 minutes remaining for LU's first lead since the 17:19 mark of the first half. The Magicians used a triple to tie the score at 59 with 8:05 to play, however, and then went on a 13-5 run to take the lead for good.

The Blue Tigers were led offensively by Amariontez Ivory, who scored 19 points to go with three boards and a trio of assists, and Smith, who finished with 17 points, eight boards and two blocks. Olsson contributed 11 points and seven rebounds to the Blue Tiger cause, and Jonell Burton also finished in double figures, scoring 10 points while registering three blocks and six rebounds as well as an assist and a steal.

LeMoyne-Owen shot .509 from the floor and .467 from long distance for the game, and forced Lincoln into 17 turnovers. The Blue Tigers held a 36-31 advantage in rebounding and shot .481 from long distance, but just .421 overall and .600 from the line. The Magicians scored 23 points off turnovers and had 36 points in the paint, though Lincoln tallied 14 second-chance points after picking up 13 offensive rebounds.

John Burton came off the bench to provide six points and L'Kielynn Taylor recorded five rebounds and a steal. Ni'Sean Rigmaiden finished with five points and a team-high four assists, and Zack Fields closed out the scoring for LU with two points, three boards and three assists.

Lincoln will travel to Kansas City, Mo. on Monday (Nov. 19) to play Missouri S&T in the MIAA Challenge at 2:00 p.m. CST. That game will be played at Municipal Auditorium, the site of the 2019 MIAA Basketball Championship.