JOPLIN, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team had the hotter hands on Saturday (Dec. 18), shooting .458 from the field and .423 from three-point range while limiting Missouri Southern to just .360 shooting from long distance. Missouri Southern was able to take advantage of 21 Blue Tiger turnovers, however, and MSSU beat LU, 81-66, in its final game of 2021.

Tre'vion Crawford scored 15 points and Yaniel Vidal scored 11 to go with four rebounds. The pair combined to make seven treys while Chuck Wilson made two, finishing with eight points and a pair of rebounds. Josh Wallace also scored eight and collected four rebounds to go with two assists.

Lincoln (1-9, 0-5 MIAA) kept it close in the first half, pulling to within one on a Crawford three with 5:40 until the break, and later cutting the deficit down to 35-32 on a fast break layup by Alafia Oluwasogo, who led LU in rebounding on the afternoon with six. It was a 38-32 game at halftime, and Crawford scored the first points of the second half to bring the Blue Tigers back within four.

Missouri Southern (7-4, 4-1 MIAA) made three shots from downtown to swing momentum back in its favor, but Lincoln clawed back to get within 51-50 on a three-pointer by Vidal with 11:30 remaining. MSSU made another three on its ensuing possession, however, and that spring-boarded the Lions to a 17-6 run and control of the contest.

 Ni'Sean Rigmaiden scored seven points and matched Destan Williams with four assists, while Williams ended the day with five points and five boards. Derrick Woods contributed six points and three rebounds, Mekhi Kimble had a pair of boards and John Gaines closed the scoring with four points and two steals. Arash Yaqubi also had a rebound on Saturday.

Lincoln is off until Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022 when the Blue Tigers open the new year by hosting Emporia State in Jefferson City at 3:00 p.m. CST.