WARRENSBURG, Mo. - Artese Stapleton hit a jumper with 0.08 seconds remaining to complete a 13-point rally and give the Lincoln men's basketball team a 74-72 win over Central Missouri on Sunday (Dec. 11).

Stapleton, who led all scorers with 24 points, took over the game in the final seconds. With just over 30 seconds remaining, Stapleton dished the ball to Arash Yaqubi, who fired a three-pointer to tie the game at 72. After UCM missed a layup on the ensuing possession, Stapleton jumped up and grabbed the defensive rebound. Following a timeout called by LU, Stapleton hit a mid-range jumper that slid through the net, giving the Blue Tigers their first lead of the second half with less than a full second remaining. Stapleton ended the day with seven rebounds and five assists.

Lincoln (5-2, 2-2 MIAA) trailed by as many as 13 with 11:32 to play, but a layup by Stapleton began a 12-5 run that cut the Central Missouri (5-4, 1-2 MIAA) lead down to 60-54. After the Mules regained a nine-point advantage, DJ Richardson hit a trey and Kevin Kone provided a layup to cut the deficit down to 65-61 with 4:21 remaining. Kone finished with a double-double, scoring 22 points and securing 17 rebounds, while Richardson added 11 points and three steals.

Following a layup by the Mules, Richardson made another basket to begin a 7-1 run for LU that tied the game at 68 with 1:42 to play. UCM made a pair of shots, interrupted only by a Kone free throw, to go ahead, 72-69, but Yaqubi's three tied the game once again, setting up Stapleton's last-second winner. Yaqubi had six points on the afternoon.

The Blue Tigers trailed 40-30 at halftime, despite shooting .519 from the floor. LU shot .452 in the second half, but the difference was a .400 percentage from three-point range after missing five long-distance attempts during the game's first 20 minutes. Lincoln scored 19 second chance points and held a 41-36 edge in rebounding, and played well defensively in the second half, holding Central Missouri to .387 shooting overall and .250 from three-point land.

Sam Rautins provided five points, four assists and four rebounds, and Franck Yetna had a block to go with four points and two boards. Emmette Page closed the scoring with two points, a pair of rebounds and an assist. The win was the first for Lincoln in Warrensburg since the 2016-17 season.

The Blue Tigers will play an exhibition game against NCAA Division I foe Southern Illinois on Tuesday (Dec. 13) at 7:00 p.m. CST.