CLAREMORE, Okla. - It was a tight affair with seven lead changes and five ties, but Rogers State pulled away in the final minutes to beat the Lincoln men's basketball team, 76-67, on Saturday (Jan. 25).

Marcel Burton led the Blue Tigers with 19 points to go with a rebound and two steals, and L'Kielynn Taylor had a team-high 15 boards while registering three steals, two assists and six points. Cameron Potts, meanwhile, had 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Lincoln (7-11, 4-5 MIAA) scored the first eight points of the contest and led until the 10:39 mark, when a trey evened the score at 13. Marcel Burton hit a jumper to briefly put the Blue Tigers back on top, and the game was evenly played afterward until Jonell Burton put the Blue Tigers on top, 25-24, with a three-pointer of his own with 2:41 until halftime. Rogers State scored the next five points, however, to take a four-point advantage into halftime.

Rogers State (16-4, 8-3 MIAA) continued to lead into the second half, taking a 35-31 advantage three minutes into the period, but a trey by Lamont Ballard, Jr. pulled the Blue Tigers within one before a jumper by Alafia Oluwasogo put LU ahead 36-35. Ballard ended the day with six points, three rebounds and three assists, while Oluwasogo added eight points, four boards, a block and a steal. Jonell Burton, meanwhile, finished with nine points and a block.

The Hillcats later re-took the lead and went up by as many as seven, but the Blue Tigers charged back with a 5-0 run to get within 58-56 with 7:08 to play. The RSU advantage would hover between two and five points for the next four minutes, before a Taylor free throw put LU within 62-60 entering the final four minutes.

This time, however, it was Rogers State going on an 8-0 run, as the Hillcats kept the Blue Tigers off the board until Marcel Burton hit a jumper with 1:42 remaining. Rogers State would later go back up by 12, but Potts made the final score a nine-point contest with a three-pointer in the final seconds.

Joe Davis had four points and two rebounds and Jordan Notch rounded out the scoring with two points. Bansi King rounded out LU with a rebound.

Lincoln returns to Jason Gym on Wednesday (Jan. 29) to host Washburn at 7:30 p.m. CST.