Complete Game Notes
Game #25: Lindenwood (13-14, 6-9 MIAA) at Lincoln (16-8, 9-6 MIAA)
Date: Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Time: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: Jason Gym (1,538) in Jefferson City, Mo.
Tickets: Adults - $5.00 | LU Faculty & Staff/Non-LU Students - $3.00 | LU Students & Kids 5 and Under – Free
Live Video: http://www.themiaanetwork.com/lubluetigers/
Live Stats: https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/mbball/
Special Event: Salute to Service Night

THE TIP OFF:  The Lincoln men's basketball team tips off a four-game homestand to end the regular season on Tuesday night (Feb. 19) when the Blue Tigers welcome Lindenwood to Jason Gym for a 7:30 p.m. CST contest. Lincoln will try to sweep the season series over the Lions after the Blue Tigers pulled out a 96-87 victory in triple-overtime against Lindenwood in St. Charles, Mo. back on Jan. 12. Lincoln will also try to snap a three-game skid, as the Blue Tigers dropped their final road games of the year last week against Nebraska Kearney and Fort Hays State. Lindenwood is 13-14 on the season, but has won each of its past two games.

FAST BREAKS
- Lincoln and Lindenwood will meet for the 20th time on Tuesday, with the Lions leading the all-time series, 11-8. The Blue Tigers have won each of the past four meetings, including sweeping the season series in 2017-18.

- This will be the final time Lincoln will play an MIAA game against Lindenwood, as the Lions are leaving the conference for the GLVC beginning in 2019-20.

- With 16 wins, LU has secured a fourth-straight winning season for the first time since posting eight-consecutive winning seasons from 1971-72 through 1978-79.

- Lincoln is one win away from recording 10 conference wins in a season for the first time since 2015-16.

PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  Terrance Smith leads Lincoln with 16.6 points and 6.6 boards per night while Ni'Sean Rigmaiden leads LU with 4.7 assists while scoring 11.3 per night. Amariontez Ivory (13.1 ppg.) and Jonell Burton (12.9 ppg.) are LU's other offensive leaders, and L'Kielynn Taylor is averaging 5.5 rebounds.

HEAD COACH JOHN MOSELEY:  Now in his fifth season as the head coach of the Blue Tigers, Moseley has led LU to three-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
Nebraska Kearney 75, Lincoln 67
The Blue Tigers had the lead at halftime, but the Lopers out-scored LU 48-35 over the game's final 20 minutes to beat Lincoln on Thursday (Feb. 14). Terrance Smith scored 30 for the Blue Tigers, and Jonell Burton added 14 points and Amariontez Ivory chipped in 10.

Fort Hays State 72, Lincoln 63
Lincoln led by seven with just under 14 minutes to play in the game, but Fort Hays State used an 11-0 run to take the lead, and held off the Blue Tigers the rest of the way to hand LU a loss on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 16). Grant Olsson led LU with 24 points and Jonell Burton scored 13 while Ni'Sean Rigmaiden finished with eight points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

SCOUTING THE LIONS:  Chandler Diekvoss is leading Lindenwood in rebounding (6.9) while averaging 15.9 points per game for a Lion squad that is averaging 75.7 points per game. Both Brad Newman (20.3 ppg.) and Chris King (7.9) are having strong offensive seasons while Diego Womack is averaging 5.1 rebounds and Adam Pohlman is averaging 5.0 assists.

LWU HEAD COACH LANCE RANDALL:  The fourth-year head coach of the Lions, Randall joined Lindenwood after going 78-44 in four seasons at St. Leo. In his first year, Randall led St. Leo to its first winning season in 14 years, and eventually he led the team to three trips to the NCAA DII tournament. In each of the past three seasons, Randall has led Lindenwood to berths in the MIAA postseason tournament.

WINNER, WINNER:  With its win over Emporia State, Lincoln clinched its 15th win of the year and a fourth-straight winning season. LU went 16-14 in 2015-16, 17-13 in 2016-17 and 15-14 last season. This marks the first time that LU has had four-straight winning seasons since posting eight consecutive winning campaigns from 1971-72 through 1978-79.

SHOOTING STARS:  LU ranks among the best teams in the MIAA in making baskets, as Lincoln is fourth in the league in field goal percentage at .480. The Blue Tigers, who rank 12th in DII in three-point percentage (.406) and 39th in total field goal percentage, are 15-3 this season when finishing games with a higher accuracy rating than their opponents.

IVORY TOWER:  Amariontez Ivory scored at least 10 points in 21 of his 29 games last year, and is having another stellar season in 2018-19. An All-MIAA honorable mention last year, Ivory now has tallied 16 total performances with 20-plus points, including a 30-point day at Emporia State, and averages 13.1 points this season with 15 double-digit point performances in 2018-19.

DOWNTOWN'S CLOSED:  Teams have had a hard time making three's against Lincoln, as the Blue Tigers lead the MIAA and rank sixth in DII in three-point defense (.299). While opponents have attempted 523 shots from downtown, LU has allowed just 156 treys this season, five fewer than Missouri Western (161), which has allowed the second-fewest number of treys in the MIAA.

AGENT SMITH:  Terrance Smith has doubled up in five games this season, including tallying season-highs in points (35) and rebounds (14) in LU's win over Missouri Southern. Smith, who also had double-doubles against Ecclesia, Missouri S&T, Northwest Missouri and Emporia State, leads the team with 16.8 points and 6.6 boards per game.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  After leading the LU men's basketball team to three-straight victories, including a win over No. 20 Missouri Southern, Terrance Smith was named as the MIAA Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 7. Smith, who scored 35 points and grabbed 14 boards vs. MSSU, averaged 21.7 points & 8.3 rebounds that week.

DIALING LONG DISTANCE:  Lincoln is once again one of the top teams in the MIAA in three-point shooting, as LU is second in the conference with a .403 percentage from long distance. That percentage is the 12th-best this year in NCAA Division II. LU is averaging 9.2 treys per night, the fifth-most in the conference.

HE GIVES AND HE TAKES:  Ni'Sean Rigmaiden has been a huge asset to the Blue Tigers in nearly every facet of the game, but especially in assists and steals, where he leads the team with 113 and 33, respectively. Rigmaiden, who is fifth in the MIAA in assists and fourth in total steals, also averages 11.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

POINTS FOR FREE:  LU is opportunistic at the line, as the Blue Tigers are shooting .753 on free throws, a percentage that is fifth in the MIAA and 41st in NCAA Division II. Amariontez Ivory is 50-for-56 at the line while Jonell Burton shoots .838 at the charity stripe.

GRANTED:  Grant Olsson has stepped up his game in his second season with the Blue Tigers, as the senior averages 10.1 points and 4.0 boards per game. Olsson, a starter in 23 games this year, has scored in double figures in 11 of the past 18 games and has grabbed at least four boards in 15 contests.

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:  The Blue Tigers host Washburn this Saturday (Feb. 23) in Jason Gym for a 3:00 p.m. CST contest.