Complete Game Notes
Game #5: Clarke (0-5) at Lincoln (4-0)
Date: Monday, Nov. 25, 2024
Time: 11:00 a.m. CST
Site: Jefferson City, Mo.
Live Video: https://www.glvcsn.com/lincolnbluetigers/
Live Stats: https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
Game #6: Lincoln at Southwest Baptist (1-2)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024
Time: 3:00 p.m. CST
Site: Bolivar, Mo.
Live Video: https://www.glvcsn.com/lincolnbluetigers/
Live Stats: https://www.sbubearcats.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
Game #7: Lincoln at Missouri S&T (2-0)
Date: Monday, Dec. 2, 2024
Time: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: Rolla, Mo.
Live Video: https://www.glvcsn.com/lincolnbluetigers/
Live Stats: https://minerathletics.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
THE TIP OFF:  The Lincoln men's basketball team has a busy eight days ahead of it as the Blue Tigers play a home game before playing their first two GLVC contests on the road. The Blue Tigers play a rare morning game on Monday (Nov. 25), hosting Clarke in Jason Gym at 11:00 a.m. CST. After the Thanksgiving holiday, Lincoln plays its first-ever league games as a member of the GLVC, opening the conference slate in Boliva, Mo. on Saturday (Nov. 30) with a 3:00 p.m. CST game against Southwest Baptist. On Monday, Dec. 2, Lincoln travels to Rolla, Mo. to face Missouri S&T in a 7:30 p.m. CST game. The Blue Tigers are undefeated in 2024-25 after winning a pair of games last week, as LU beat Harris Stowe at home, 89-47, and won a neutral site game vs. Auburn-Montgomery, 65-50.
 
FAST BREAKS
- Clarke, which was 0-5 on the season as of Nov. 22, and Lincoln will meet for the first time ever on Monday.
 
- On Saturday, LU and SBU meet for the 51st time, with Southwest Baptist owning a 29-21 edge in the series.
 
- SBU won the last meeting, 82-78, in 2019.
 
- Missouri S&T is one of LU's most-frequently played opponent, as the teams are meeting for the 80th time. The Blue Tigers, who beat the Miners in their last meeting, 66-55, in 2019, lead the all-time series, 42-37.
 
PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  With nearly an average of a double-double per game, Franck Yetna (16.0 ppg., 9.5 rpg.) is leading Lincoln in the early part of its 2024-25 season. Xavier Ball is next with 14.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while Tyler Chapman is averaging 5.8 assists to go with 12.0 points per contest. Tyson Robinson averages 8.0 points and Malcolm Davis is tallying 5.5 boards per night.
 
HEAD COACH JIMMY DREW:  In his third year as the head coach at Lincoln, Drew led the Blue Tigers to 17 overall wins and 13 conference wins, the latter a program record, in 2022-23. Drew has led LU to a pair of postseason appearances as well as a playoff victory in 2023-24. Drew came to Lincoln following a six-year run on the staff at Division I Central Florida, where he helped UCF make the second round of the NCAA tourney.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Lincoln 89, Harris Stowe 47
Five Blue Tigers scored in double figures as LU won the battle of Missouri's two HBCUs, 89-47, over Harris Stowe in Jason Gym on Wednesday (Nov. 13). Xavier Ball finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, Franck Yetna added 15 points and five boards and Mikey West chipped in 14 points while Tyson Robinson was next with 13. Tyler Chapman provided 11 points and Youssouf Timera collected 10 rebounds. Lincoln held a 56-32 advantage in rebounding and held HSSU to .245 shooting overall and .222 shooting from three point range.
 
Lincoln 65, Auburn-Montgomery 50
Lincoln shot .415 from the field en route to a 65-50 victory over Auburn-Montgomery, which was played at Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn. on Saturday (Nov. 16). Franck Yetna led Lincoln with a double-double, posting 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Tyler Chapman, who finished with six boards and three assists, and Mikey West each scored 12. Xavier Ball ended the day with 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks.
 
SCOUTING THE PRIDE:  Maximiliano Bowman leads Clarke with 14.0 points per night and also averages 6.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Daquon Lewis is also scoring in double figures, with 11.2 points, 6.4 boards and 3.2 assists per contest. Both Jake Layman and Bryce Luster averages 7.2 ppg.
 
CU HEAD COACH JIM BLAINE:  In 11 years as the head coach at Clarke, Blaine has directed the Pride to over 120 wins and, in 2020, its first top-25 national ranking in program history. Blaine won over 280 games as a high school coach in the state of Wisconsin before taking over at Clarke.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS:  Four Southwest Baptist players are scoring in double figures, led by Mitch Ganote, who leads SBU with 18.3 ppg. and 6.3 apg. while also averaging 5.3 rpg. Drenin Dinkins is next on the scoring chart with 15.7 ppg., followed by Jevin Sullivan, who scores 15.3 ppg. and leads SBU with 9.0 rpg. The other top scorer is Bayley Crawford with 10.3 ppg.
 
SBU HEAD COACH AARON NIVEN:  Niven is in his second season as the head coach of the Bearcats after five years as the team's assistant coach. SBU went 90-48 during his five years as the assistant with three 20-win seasons.
 
SCOUTING THE MINERS:  Ryan Sroka leads the Miners with 16.0 points per game while Andrew Young tallies 15.5 points to go with a team-high 7.0 rebounds. Alex Benassi (13.0 ppg.) and Aidan Burns (10.0 ppg.) are also scoring in double digits while Lovell Williams leads Missouri S&T with 6.0 assists per contest.
 
MST HEAD COACH BILL WALKER:  An alum of Missouri S&T, Walker has served as the team's head coach since 2019. Walker has led the Miners to back-to-back winning seasons with 31 wins since the start of 2022-23. Before taking over as the coach of the Miners, Walker was the head coach at Illinois-Springfield for five seasons and also worked on the staff at Texas A&M.
 
SHUTDOWN DEFENSE:  The Blue Tigers have allowed fewer than 20 points in the first half of two games this year and are currently second in NCAA Division II in field goal defense (.330) and have the nation's top scoring defense (54.4). The Blue Tigers are 14th nationally in rebounding (43.8) and eighth in defensive boards (31.8) and also own the GLVC's fifth-best three-point defense (.317).
 
WITH THE ASSIST:  Tyler Chapman posted Lincoln's first double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 assists in the Blue Tigers' win over Kentucky Wesleyan. Chapman has Division II's 21st-best assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.6 and he also ranks 25th in the nation with 5.8 assists per game. Chapman's is also second in the GLVC and 52nd in DII in total assists (23).
 
QUITE FRANCKLY:  Franck Yetna has been a force on the glass, averaging 9.5 rebounds per game, the 27th-most in NCAA Division II. Yetna, who had a 19-point, 14-rebound day against Auburn-Montgomery, is eighth in the GLVC in scoring (16.0), second in total rebounds (38) and fourth in both offensive (2.5) and defensive (7.0) rebounding.
 
GET YOUR TICKETS:  Lincoln is partnering up with Hometown Ticketing once again to sell tickets to all of LU's basketball games online in 2024-25. For more information, or to purchase single game or regular season tickets, visit www.LUBlueTigers.com/Tickets.
 
JOIN THE CLUB:  The Blue Tiger Athletics Club is a great way to engage with other LU fans while supporting Lincoln student-athletes. Every dollar raised by the club goes towards scholarships, improving facilities and purchasing equipment. To join the BTAC, or to learn more, please visit www.LUBlueTigers.com/BTAC.
 
WATCH LIVE:  Fans who are unable to attend a game in person will still be able to cheer on the Blue Tigers to victory via The GLVC Network. Every LU home game will be broadcast through a new multi-camera system and can be seen at https://www.glvcsn.com/lincolnbluetigers/.
 
GEAR UP FOR THE GAME:  Lincoln fans can get everything they need for the game at www.BlueTigersStore.com, the official online store for LU athletics. Everything from jerseys to office supplies can be found on the site, with a portion of all sales going to benefit Lincoln athletics.
 
NEXT UP:  LU opens its 2024-25 home league slate on Thursday, Dec. 5 by hosting Lewis in Jason Gym on Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. CST.