TOPEKA, Kan. - The Lincoln men's basketball team nearly rallied from a 23-point deficit, out-scoring Washburn, 43-25, in the second half. In the end, however, the Ichabods did just enough to hold off the Blue Tigers, 72-67, on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 22).

Jonell Burton led all scorers with 23 points and finished with two assists, a pair of rebounds and two steals. L'Kielynn Taylor doubled up, leading LU with 13 rebounds while scoring 18, and Cameron Potts added 11 points, four assists, two boards, a block and a steal to the Blue Tiger cause.

Washburn (16-10, 11-6 MIAA) shot .600 overall and .643 from long distance en route to a 47-24 lead at halftime. Lincoln (10-16, 7-10 MIAA) wasn't going away quietly, however, as the Blue Tigers gave up just two treys in 10 tries during the final 20 minutes. After shooting .429 in the opening half, Lincoln shot .516 from the field in the second half, including making four of its nine attempts from three-point land.

Lincoln chipped away at the Ichabod lead throughout the second half, with a three-pointer by Jonell Burton cutting the deficit down to 12 with 11:32 to play. Marcel Burton, who had seven points, four rebounds and two assists, made a trey of his own later to pull the Blue Tigers to within 11, but Washburn made two quick buckets to push its lead back to 64-48.

After trailing by 11 heading into the final four minutes, Potts made a layup, and Jonell Burton stole the ball and hit a quick shot of his own to bring the Blue Tigers to within 69-62. A WU jumper made it a nine-point affair, but Taylor made a basket and later grabbed a rebound, and Potts made a free throw to make the score 71-65 with 17 seconds remaining.

A fastbreak layup by Marcel Burton brought the Blue Tigers to within four, but that was as close as LU would come to completing the comeback. Washburn hit a free throw with six ticks left on the clock, and Lincoln missed two shots in the final seconds to preserve the Ichabods' five-point win.

Marcus Cohen contributed six points, four assists and three rebounds, and Alafia Oluwasogo closed the scoring with two points and a rebound. Zack Fields had a board and a block, and Bansi King and Jordan Notch each grabbed rebounds.

Lincoln will head to Pittsburg, Kan. on Wednesday (Feb. 26) to play Pittsburg State at 7:30 p.m. CST.