Complete Game Notes
Game #5: Lincoln (2-2) vs. Maryville (2-2)
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019
Time: 3:00 p.m. CST
Site: St. Louis, Mo.
Live Stats: www.umsltritons.com/sidearmstats/mbball
Live Video: https://www.glvcsn.com/umsl/
 
Game #6: Lincoln at Missouri-St. Louis (4-1)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019
Time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Site: St. Louis, Mo.
Live Stats: www.umsltritons.com/sidearmstats/mbball/
Live Video: https://www.glvcsn.com/umsl/
 
THE TIP OFF:  The Lincoln men's basketball team is back in St. Louis, Mo. this week for a pair of games in the UMSL Thanksgiving Classic. The Blue Tigers will first play Maryville on Tuesday (Nov. 26) at 3:00 p.m. CST. LU will then play the host school, Missouri-St. Louis, on Wednesday (Nov. 27) at 1:00 p.m. CST. This will make three games in a row in St. Louis for the Blue Tigers, who last played in the Show Me Classic on the campus of Saint Louis University on Friday night (Nov. 22). Lincoln dropped that game in overtime, 89-84, to Harris-Stowe, and will try to rebound with wins in its final two non-conference games before the start of MIAA play.
 
FAST BREAKS
- This will be the fifth meeting between the Blue Tigers and the Saints, with Maryville having won each of the previous four meetings. It will be the first time the teams have played each other since the 2014-15 season.
 
- Lincoln and Missouri-St. Louis will meet for the 36th time on Wednesday, with UMSL leading the series, 25-10. This will be the first meeting between the teams since playing a home-and-home in 2012-13.
 
- A victory on Wednesday would be the first for LU over UMSL since an 84-79 home win in 2000-01.
 
- Under head coach John Moseley, Lincoln is 16-11 in games played at a neutral site.
 
PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  L'Kielynn Taylor leads Lincoln with 11.5 rebounds per game while Jonell Burton is the top scorer with 21.8 points per night. Cameron Potts has done a bit of everything, leading Lincoln in assists (6.3 apg.) and steals (10) while averaging 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds. Marcel Burton averages 10.8 points and is shooting .833 at the line.
 
HEAD COACH JOHN MOSELEY:  Now in his sixth season as the head coach of the Blue Tigers, Moseley has led LU to four-straight postseason appearances as well as four-consecutive winning seasons. In 2015-16, he became the first coach to take Lincoln to the postseason since 1986-87 and led LU to its first winning campaign since 2001-02. The Blue Tigers have posted double-digit wins in each of the past four seasons.
 
LAST TIME OUT:  Jonell Burton poured in 40 points and Marcel Burton added 21, but the Blue Tigers fell to Harris-Stowe on Friday night (Nov. 22) in the Show Me Classic, 89-84, in overtime. Both teams were hot from the floor, with Lincoln shooting .467 overall and HSSU shooting .508, and LU forced HSSU into 15 turnovers. Harris-Stowe out-rebounded Lincoln, 46-36, however, and made nine treys on the evening.
 
SCOUTING THE SAINTS:  Parker Long leads Maryville with a 20.0 scoring average, and Owen Long (12.3 ppg.) and Malik Barnett (12.0) are also averaging double digits. Parker Long leads the squad with 24 assists and has seven steals while Kamto Eze, who leads the Saints with 7.7 boards per game, has a team-high eight takeaways. Chris Williams, meanwhile, averages 5.8 rebounds.
 
MU HEAD COACH MARC STRICKER:  In his first season at Maryville in 2017-18, Stricker led the Saints to 20 wins and a division title. The third-year coach has a 31-28 record entering this weekend, and he has coached three players who have earned All-GLVC recognition, including a two-time All-American during his first year.
 
SCOUTING THE TRITONS:  Jose Grubbs (13.8 ppg.), Jason Towery (12.8) and Yaakema Rose (11.4) are the scoring leaders on an UMSL team that averages 75.2 points per game. Missouri-St. Louis allows just 57.4 points, and has racked up 54 steals on the year while allowing only 17. Jalen Wilkins-McCoy has 10 blocks and is tied with Rose for the team lead in rebounding (5.6).
 
UMSL HEAD COACH BOB SUNDVOLD:  A veteran coach with over 30 years of experience, Sundvold is currently in his seventh season as the leader of the Tritons. Sundvold, who has won over 200 games in his career including nearly 100 at Missouri-St. Louis, has also been the head coach at both Central Missouri and Missouri-Kansas City.
 
ON THE OFFENSIVE:  L'Kielynn Taylor already has 15 offensive rebounds on the season, a total that ranks second in the MIAA and 28th in DII early in the year. Taylor, who is leading the league in defensive rebounding (31), is averaging 11.5 boards per contest, rating him first in the MIAA and 10th in NCAA Division II.
 
MASTER THIEF:  Cameron Potts has notched 10 steals during the first four games of the year and is second in the MIAA with 2.5 steals per game. Potts, who ranks 38th in Division II in steals per contest, has helped Lincoln rank seventh in the MIAA with 7.5 takeaways per contest.
 
THE GIVER:  When he's not taking the ball away from the other team, Cameron Potts is giving it to his teammates, as Potts ranks 23rd in Division II with 6.3 assists per game. Potts, who is third in the MIAA in assists, also has the league's fourth-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1).
 
FEELING NEUTRAL:  Lincoln is playing four of its first five games on neutral courts, with its first two games played in Kansas City. LU played Harris-Stowe on Friday night, and plays Maryville at UMSL's campus on Tuesday.
 
DOWNTOWN'S CLOSED:  Teams had a difficult time making three's against Lincoln last year, as the Blue Tigers ranked second in the MIAA and 42nd in NCAA Division II in three-point defense (.327). That trend has continued in 2019-20, as Lincoln is currently second in the league and 15th nationally, allowing opponents to shoot just .262.
 
D-D-D-DEFENSE:  In addition to being tough along the perimeter, Lincoln has been strong all around while on defense, ranking 49th nationally with 66.8 points allowed per contest. The Blue Tigers, who are fourth in the MIAA in rebounding and third in defensive boards per game, are 31st nationally in field goal defense (.388).
 
ON THE LINE:  Jonell Burton, Lincoln's top-returner in terms of points per game, is leading the Blue Tigers with 21.8 points per contest. Part of that success has come at the free throw line, where Burton is shooting .800, the 11th-best percentage by an MIAA player. Offensively, Burton is seventh in the MIAA in total points, field goal attempts, and field goals made.
 
SLIDING UP THE POLLS:  Lincoln received quite a bit of respect from around the MIAA in the league's preseason polls. In the coaches poll, the Blue Tigers received 93 points to be picked seventh in the 14-team league. In the media poll, Lincoln collected 156 points and was selected sixth in the conference.
 
FOUR FOR FOUR:  Lincoln has used a new lineup in each of its first four contests, with just three players starting all three games. Cameron Potts, L'Kielynn Taylor and Jordan Notch are LU's only every-game starters while four other players have made at least one start in 2019-20.
 
CAREER 40:  Jonell Burton scored a career-high 40 points against Harris-Stowe, with that total tied for the sixth-most in a single game by any NCAA Division II player in 2019-20. It is also the second-most in a game by an MIAA player, with only Northwest Missouri's Ryan Hawkins having scored more in a contest (44).
 
GEAR UP FOR THE GAME:  Lincoln fans can get everything they need for the game at www.BlueTigersStore.com, the official online store for LU athletics. Everything from jerseys to office supplies can be found on the site, with a portion of all sales going to benefit Lincoln athletics.

NEXT UP:  LU opens MIAA play on Thursday, Dec. 5, by hosting Northwest Missouri in Jason Gym at 7:30 p.m. CST.