CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Lincoln men's basketball team played Division I opponent Southern Illinois tough through the first 20 minutes, but the Salukis pulled away in the second half to win Tuesday night's (Dec. 13) game, 88-51. The game counted for SIU, but was an exhibition for Lincoln, which will resume its season on Monday (Dec. 19) with a neutral site game in Seward, Neb. against Concordia-St. Paul at 6:00 p.m. CST.

Kevin Kone led LU offensively with 13 points and grabbed four rebounds to go with an assist and a steal. Artese Stapleton finished with 11 points and had two steals to go with three boards and four assists. For the game, Lincoln shot .413 from the field and .750 at the free throw line.

The Blue Tigers withstood an early run by Southern Illinois, rallying to tie the score at 11 on Emmette Page's jumper with 14 minutes to play. SIU responded with a quick bucket, but Stapleton responded with a basket of his own, knotting the score at 13. The Salukis started to pull away afterwards, entering halftime with a 38-23 advantage. It was the second half that made the biggest difference, however, as SIU shot .645 from the field and .571 from long distance to seal the victory.

Page, who dished two assists, matched Caleb Wright with six points apiece, and DJ Richardson added five points, two boards and two dimes to the LU cause. Franck Yetna had an assist to go with three rebounds and two points, and Sam Rautins and Arash Yaqubi added three points apiece.Tyvin Garrison recorded a steal, and Tyson Robinson closed the scoring with two points, a rebound and an assist.