MARYVILLE, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team had the No. 5 team in the country on the ropes at halftime, but Northwest Missouri rallied in the second half for a 96-63 win on Thursday night (Jan. 27).

Northwest Missouri (18-2, 11-1 MIAA) entered the game ranked No. 5 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Division II poll, but Lincoln (1-14, 0-10 MIAA) held the defending national champions to .375 shooting during the first 20 minutes. The Blue Tigers shot an impressive .625 from the field and .556 from beyond the arc in the first half, and at one point took a 26-11 lead on a trey by Arash Yaqubi. 

A layup by Derrick Woods following a bucket by NWMSU kept LU ahead by 15, and Woods later blocked a shot, grabbed the rebound and hit a jumper to make it a 30-13 contest. A fast break layup from Destan Williams put LU ahead by 19, but the Bearcats ended the half on a 14-4 run, putting Lincoln's lead at 327 at the break.

The second half was all Northwest Missouri, however, as the Bearcats scored 69 points while shooting a blistering .889 from the floor and .824 from three-point land. Woods finished the night with 14 points, two blocks and a steal, while Williams led LU with 20 points to go with six assists and four boards. Yaqubi scored nine on the evening.

John Gaines came off the bench to provide seven points, and Ni'Sean Rigmaiden tallied six points, four assists, two steals and three boards. Chuck Wilson added three points and three rebounds to the Blue Tiger cause, and Yaniel Vidal collected three rebounds while Alafia Oluwasogo had two. Mark Boland and Mekhi Kimble closed the scoring with two points apiece.

Lincoln will travel to St. Joseph, Mo. on Saturday (Jan. 29) for its second of three games in five nights. The Blue Tigers will play Missouri Western, with tip-off set for 3:30 p.m. CST.