JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team was nigh unmissable at the line on Saturday (Dec. 16) as the Blue Tigers beat Missouri Southern, 76-65, to improve to 4-0 at home for the second-straight season.

Franck Yetna had a double-double, tallying 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Elijah Farr finished with 20 points, seven boards, three assists, two blocks and a steal. DJ Richardson added 18 points and three assists as Lincoln improved its record to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA.

Both teams played hard in a game that featured 15 lead changes and five ties, with LU and MSSU nearly even in rebounds (32 for Lincoln, 31 for Missouri Southern) and shooting percentage (.453 for the Lions, .444 for the Blue Tigers). Lincoln held a slight 11-14 advantage on turnovers and scored 15 points off of those takeways while Missouri Southern scored 13. The biggest difference in the game came at the free throw line, where LU successfully connected on 22 of its 24 attempts for a .917 shooting percentage.

Missouri Southern (4-8, 2-4 MIAA) held a one-point, 35-34 lead at halftime. After multiple exchanges of the lead, the Blue Tigers finally took control for good when Farr hit a jumper with 7:44 remaining to put LU up 53-52. Farr followed that by draining a three, and Richardson and Yetna each made a pair of free throws to give Lincoln and eight-point cushion. Lincoln would ultimately go up by 13 on two free throws by Tyson Robinson, who also two rebounds in the win.

Jamar Madge, Jr. provided seven points and Jose Roberto Tanchyn chipped in four while Sam Rautins added three points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal to the winning cause. Peyton Williams closed the scoring with two points and Trey Boson pulled down two rebounds.

Lincoln will try to clinch its first 5-0 start to a home slate since 2020-21 on Monday (Dec. 18) when the Blue Tigers step away from conference play to host William Woods. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CST.