JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Jonell Burton scored a game-high 31 points and Grant Olsson chipped in 15, but the Lincoln men's basketball team fell to Northeastern State, 80-72, on Thursday night (Jan. 24).

Jonell Burton additionally blocked a pair of shots and had a steal to go with four rebounds, and made all 11 of his attempts at the line while shooting 9-for-14 from the floor. As a team, however, Lincoln shot .200 from beyond the arc and .418 overall, and was out-rebounded by the RiverHawks, 43-27.

The game was a close affair for much of the night, featuring nine ties and nine lead changes. Lincoln (12-5, 5-3 MIAA) had a 41-40 advantage at halftime, but Northeastern State (10-8, 4-5 MIAA) fought back in the second half, taking a 65-59 lead at the 6:44 mark.

The Blue Tigers started their comeback bid on a L'Kielynn Taylor free throw, and Jonell Burton made a pair of shots at the charity stripe to pull LU within three. Lincoln later closed the gap to two on a jumper by Ni'Sean Rigmaiden before two more free throws from Jonell Burton knotted the score at 69.

Lincoln would never regain the lead, however, as Northeastern State closed the contest on a 13-2 run. The RiverHawks shot .491 from the floor for the game and made seven treys in the first half, but LU tightened up defensively and gave up just one three-pointer over the final 20 minutes.

Rigmaiden led LU with seven assists and scored five points to go with six boards, while Taylor added seven points, six rebounds and a steal. Terrance Smith also pulled down six rebounds and chipped in six points to go with three assists and a block.

John Burton came off the bench to provide three points while Amariontez Ivory closed out the Blue Tigers with five points and a pair of rebounds.

Lincoln will be back at Jason Gym on Saturday (Jan. 26) to host Central Oklahoma at 3:00 p.m. CST.