JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - It was a four-point game at halftime, but Nebraska Kearney took advantage of hot second half shooting to beat the Lincoln men's basketball team, 80-59, on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 19).

John Gaines led Lincoln with 19 points and pulled down six rebounds to go with an assist and a steal. Chuck Wilson also finished in double figures, scoring 13 points and grabbing a team-high seven boards while notching a steal and dishing a pair of assists.

After falling behind by 10 with 3:46 to play in the first half, Gaines hit a layup to put LU on the comeback trail, and Wilson drained a three to cut the UNK lead down to 35-30. Gaines later made a three, and ended the half with a layup to cut the Loper lead down to 39-35 entering the break.

In the second half, however, Nebraska Kearney (11-15, 7-13 MIAA) shot .586 overall and .467 from three-point range to out-score Blue Tigers, 41-24. UNK made 14 total treys in the contest, finishing with a .483 shooting percentage beyond the arc, and took advantage of 12 LU turnovers. Both teams collected 30 rebounds, with Lincoln (2-22, 1-18 MIAA) out-gaining the Lopers on the offensive glass, 10-5. The Blue Tigers connected on five of their 10 three-point tries in the first half, but made just three more on 13 attempts over the final 20 minutes.

Josh Wallace matched Gaines with six rebounds and scored seven points to go with an assist, and Derrick Woods added two points and two rebounds to the Lincoln cause. Mekhi Kimble finished with three points and a board, while Ni'Sean Rigmaiden dropped two dimes and chipped in five points. Mark Boland scored six while Yaniel Vidal added four points, three boards and two assists. Alafia Oluwasogo had a rebound.

Lincoln closes a three-game homestand on Monday evening (Feb. 21) by hosting Newman at 5:30 p.m. CST.