JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - After trailing by 15 at halftime, Rogers State mounted a furious second half rally to force overtime, but the Lincoln men's basketball team pulled out a thrilling 76-74 win over the Hillcats on Thursday night (Jan. 12). 

DJ Richardson provided some clutch free throw shooting, making all eight of his attempts while scoring 15 on the evening. Two of those were made after a technical foul was issued to Rogers State (9-7, 5-5 MIAA) with the Hillcats clinging to a 61-60 lead with, and Richardson, who had just hit a layup to pull LU to within one, made two more free throws soon afterwards when RSU was forced to foul after the inbound pass. 

Those shots gave Lincoln (9-4, 5-4 MIAA) a three-point advantage, and Rogers State was forced to try a three in the final seconds. The Hillcats' first attempt bounced off the backboard, and Lincoln tried to run out the clock by swatting the ball away. The basketball swerved right to another Hillcat, however, and his three-point attempt with 0.02 left on the clock went straight through the net, sending the game into overtime.

The Blue Tigers scored the first four points of overtime, with Sai Witt hitting a layup and Sam Rautins making two shots at the line. Lincoln ended up shooting .732 on the night from the charity stripe, making 30 of its 41 attempts. RSU scored the next three points, but Richardson, who ended the day with two rebounds, a block and an assist, made two more free throws to give Lincoln a 70-67 advantage. After Rogers State connected on two free throws on its ensuing possession, Richardson made it a 73-69 affair by draining a deep three.

The Hillcats didn't come any closer than within two the rest of the way. RSU shot .468 from the field and .545 from long range and forced Lincoln into 16 turnovers, but committed 28 fouls and shot just .526 at the free throw line. Lincoln outgained Rogers State on the glass, 45-32, with Witt pairing a team-high 10 rebounds with a team-best 21 points. Artese Stapleton, meanwhile, scored 19 and dished three assists while collecting seven boards and blocking a shot. LU rejected eight shots on the evening, with Kevin Kone, who had nine points and eight rebounds, blocking four of those shots.

Rautins finished the evening with five points, three boards, three assists, a steal and a rebound. Franck Yetna added four points, a steal and five rebounds to the winning cause, and Jamar Madge, Jr. rounded out the scoring with three points and two rebounds. Emmette Page also represented the Blue Tigers on the court with a rebound.

This was the first victory over Rogers State in four tries for the Blue Tigers, who have now won two games in a row. Lincoln will try to make it three-straight on Saturday (Jan. 14) when the Blue Tigers host Northeastern State at 3:00 p.m. CST.