EMPORIA, Kan. - The Lincoln men's basketball team shot .542 from the field and five players scored at least 12 points as the Blue Tigers defeated Emporia State, 82-78, on Thursday evening (Dec. 17).

Sai Witt recorded his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 19 points to go with 13 rebounds, two assists, a pair of steals and a block. Cameron Potts nearly had a triple-double, as he chipped in 14 points to go with eight boards, eight assists and three steals. Quinton Drayton also scored 19 and provided four assists and four steals to the winning cause, while Mekhi Kimble finished with 14 points and Yaniel Vidal scored 12.

Lincoln (4-2, 4-2 MIAA) opened the game on an 11-0 run, and held a 25-13 advantage with 11 minutes to play in the opening half. Emporia State (3-1, 3-1 MIAA) drained a three to spark an 11-0 run of its own before finally taking a 29-27 lead with 6:15 until the break. Witt quickly tied the game on a layup on which he was fouled, and made the free throw to put the Blue Tigers back on top. A pair of treys from Kimble, a basket by Potts and a couple free throws from Drayton allowed LU to build its lead back up to nine.

The Blue Tigers took a 40-32 lead into halftime and came out firing in the second period, shooting .593 from the floor while making five of their 10 attempts from long distance to hand a Hornet team that entered the night receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Division II poll their first loss of the season. Lincoln led by as many as 18 in the second half, and ended the night with a 34-30 advantage in rebounding.

Emporia State did launch one final rally, pulling to within 76-75 of the Blue Tigers with just over a minute remaining. Vidal gave LU some breathing room with a three-pointer, but ESU hit a shot from downtown to get back within one. Afterwards it came down to the charity stripe, and Lincoln, which shot .727 from the line for the ballgame, made three free throws to seal the victory.

Jordan Notch pulled down seven rebounds and chipped in four points to go with a block, an assist and a steal. Arash Yaqubi also represented the Blue Tigers in Thursday night's victory.

Lincoln will close out the 2020 portion of its schedule on Saturday (Dec. 19) when LU travels to Topeka, Kan. to play Washburn at 2:00 p.m. CST.