JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A big first half run helped Central Oklahoma, ranked No. 7 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Division II poll, beat the Lincoln men's basketball team on Saturday (Dec. 3).

Artese Stapleton led all players with 29 points and had seven rebounds, four assists and a block. Kevin Kone also had a block to go with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Franck Yetna, meanwhile, blocked three shots, pulled down eight rebounds and chipped in four points while recording a steal.

A three-pointer by Arash Yaqubi, who scored nine on the afternoon, put Lincoln (4-2, 1-2 MIAA) ahead 14-7 with 14:15 to play in the opening half. Central Oklahoma (7-0, 2-0 MIAA) answered with a quick three of its own, and scored six-straight afterwards to take a two-point advantage. Kone made a pair of free throws to knot the score up at 16, bu UCO went on an 11-4 run before DJ Richardson made a basket from downtown at the 5:28 mark. Richardson had 10 points on the day.

Richardson's three made the score 27-23, but Central Oklahoma exploded for a 19-3 run to end the half. The Blue Tigers got the deficit down to 13 with about five minutes to play in the game, but the nationally-ranked Bronchos ended up securing the win. Lincoln shot .500 from the field in the second half while holding Central Oklahoma to .367 shooting, but the Bronchos shot .444 for the contest.

Emmette Page tallied an assist and a steal, Sam Rautins grabbed four rebounds and recorded a pair of takeaways, and Tyvin Garrison closed the scoring with three points and two boards. Tyson Robinson dished a pair of assists while Caleb Wright grabbed two rebounds.

Lincoln will be off until Sunday, Dec. 11, when the Blue Tigers travel to Warrensburg, Mo. to play Central Missouri at 3:00 p.m. CST.