MARYVILLE, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team fell to Northwest Missouri, ranked No. 1 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll, by a score of 84-54 on Saturday (Dec. 5).

Sai Witt was LU's leading scorer, finishing with 15 points, five rebounds, a block and two steals, while Yaniel Vidal added 11 points, three steals, a pair of assists and two rebounds. DaMani Jarrett blocked two shots and matched Quinton Drayton, who had three rebounds, with seven points.

After a layup by Witt tied the game eight, Northwest Missouri (3-0, 3-0 MIAA) hit back-to-back treys to launch a 10-2 run that ended up giving the Bearcats the lead for good. The Blue Tigers rallied to get within three on a fast break layup by Ni'Sean Rigmaiden, who contributed four points, four boards and four assists to the LU cause. NWMSU closed the half strong, however, taking a 39-25 lead into the break.

Lincoln (2-2, 2-2 MIAA) shot .364 from the field and .333 from three point land, and forced the Bearcats into 13 turnovers, resulting in 10 LU points. Northwest Missouri had a hot day shooting the ball however, finishing with a .585 percentage overall and a .533 accuracy rating from long distance.

Cameron Potts and Arash Yaqubi each had three points, with Potts also tallying two assists and a rebound. Mekhi Kimble recorded four points, three assists and three rebounds, while Jordan Notch rounded out Lincoln on the stat sheet with three boards.

Lincoln will return home for its final game of 2020 inside Jason Gym on Thursday (Dec. 10), as the Blue Tigers host Pittsburg State at 7:30 p.m. CST.