KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kevin Kone had a double-double and Artese Stapleton hit the go-ahead jumper with 10 seconds remaining to give the Lincoln men's basketball team a 59-56 win over NCAA Division I opponent Missouri-Kansas City on Monday evening (Nov. 7).

The game counted as an exhibition for the Blue Tigers, but was the season-opener for the Roos, who led by 10 with 10:58 to play before eventually falling to 0-1 in 2022-23. Lincoln picked up its first win over an NCAA Division I opponent since 1978-79 when the Blue Tigers beat Arkansas-Little Rock, then an NCAA Division I Independent, 84-60 in Jefferson City. 

The win also continued a tradition of success for Lincoln against UMKC, as the Blue Tigers are 4-4 all-time (in regular season games for LU) against the Roos with victories coming in 1984-85, 1976-77, 1975-76 and 1958-59. The last time these two programs played was in 2015-16, when Lincoln took UMKC down to the wire in Municipal Auditorium before falling, 73-72, after a buzzer-beating shot attempt by the Blue Tigers bounced off the rim.

Kone led the Blue Tigers with 19 points and 15 rebounds while blocking two shots, and Stapleton ended the night with 16 points, eight boards and a pair of assists. Stapleton additionally recorded a team-high three steals, as Lincoln forced the Roos into 22 turnovers on the evening. Three other Blue Tigers finished with two steals apiece, including Emmette Page, who chipped in nine points and dished two assists.

UMKC held a 35-26 lead at halftime and led by 10 at the 17:57 mark before Kone scored seven unanswered points to pull the Blue Tigers to within 39-36. After UMKC rebuilt a 10-point advantage, Jamar Madge, Jr. began the comeback for LU by hitting a quick jumper. Free throws from Caleb Wright and Franck Yetna, as well as trey by Madge, eventually helped Lincoln chip the deficit down to six, and a three-pointer drained by Stapleton made the score 51-47 entering the final seven minutes of the ballgame.

Page knotted the score at 52 with another basket from downtown, and a jumper by Stapleton gave Lincoln its first lead of the second half with three minutes remaining. The Roos tied the game on a dunk with two minutes to play, the contest would eventually enter the final 10 seconds with the score an even 56-56. That's when Stapleton broke away for a jumper inside the paint off the inbound pass, and Kone blocked the potential tying attempt by UMKC and came down with the rebound. Kone added another point at the line, and the Blue Tigers did not allow the Roos to attempt another shot before time expired.

Madge provided five points, four boards, two assists and a pair of steals to the winning cause, and Wright ended the evening with four points and an assist. Yetna, meanwhile, filled up the stat sheet with four points, five rebounds, three assists, two takeaways and a pair of blocks.

DJ Richardson closed the scoring for LU with two points and a rebound, and Sam Rautins also pulled down a rebound as Lincoln beat a current Division I school for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign, when the Blue Tigers beat Northern Colorado, then a Division II program, by a final score of 100-87. Monday's win gives the Blue Tigers a great start under new head coach Jimmy Drew, who was hired last spring, as well as his staff and an overhauled roster.

Lincoln will open the 2022-23 regular season at home next Monday, Nov. 14, when the Blue Tigers play William Woods in Jason Gym at 7:00 p.m. CST.