PITTSBURG, Kan. - Maurice Mason scored 17 points, Calvin Chambers chipped in 11 and Terrance Smith added 10, but the Lincoln's men's basketball team's 2017-18 season came to an end with an 81-60 loss to Pittsburg State in the first round of the MIAA Men's Basketball Championship on Tuesday night (Feb. 27).

Mason dished six assists and Smith grabbed six boards to go with a steal. Chambers finished with four rebounds and a pair of assists while Marquise Williams led the Blue Tigers with eight rebounds and tallied three points. Paris Parham came off the bench in the second half to provide six points and two boards.

The game started out well for the Blue Tigers, who scored the contest's first five points en route to taking an 18-9 lead on a free throw by Amariontez Ivory with 8:19 until halftime. After the two teams went a full minute without a score, Pittsburg State (17-12) hit a layup that sparked a 17-0 run, giving the Gorillas control of the contest.

Ivory, who finished with four points, four boards and two assists, made a late three to cut the PSU advantage to 36-21 at halftime, and Smith scored the first three points of the second half to bring LU back within two. The second big scoring run by the Gorillas came soon after, as Pittsburg State out-scored LU, 15-5, later in the period to take a 51-37 lead.

The Blue Tigers mounted one last rally, pulling to within 55-50 on a layup by Williams with eight minutes to play, but the Gorillas answered with a 12-4 run over the next four minutes to pull away for the victory. Pittsburg State shot .434 from the floor, but the bigger factor came at the line, as the Gorillas made 25 of their 28 free throw attempts.

John Burton added five points while Darrius Spencer finished with four points, five boards and a team-high three steals. Grant Olsson grabbed a pair of rebounds, as did Alexander Nailes, who also had an assist.

Lincoln, which ends the year with a 15-14 overall record, finished its season in the MIAA tournament for the third-consecutive year.