JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team shot .519 overall and .435 from three-point range as the Blue Tigers beat Southwest Baptist, 77-68, in the GLVC opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 29).

The Blue Tigers scored the first 12 points of the contest and ended the first half with a shooting percentage from the floor of .607. Tyler Chapman drained five treys and finished with 15 points, six assists and a rebound. Solomon Oraegbu led LU in points (17) and rebounds (seven) while Malcolm Davis and Matthieu Biembongo each had 14 points and five boards. Davis led the Blue Tigers with four steals and dished three assists. Biembongo, meanwhile, blocked a team-high four shots and dished an assist.

Lincoln (4-1, 1-0 GLVC) led from start to finish, but Southwest Baptist (3-3, 0-1 GLVC) used a 15-5 run to pull within 32-31 of the Blue Tigers with 3:54 until halftime. Chapman sank a three to slow down the run, but the Bearcats made a layup to cut the LU lead to 35-33. Enari Thomas and Max Ekono each made layups to push the Lincoln advantage to six, and the Blue Tigers entered halftime with a 44-37 lead.

The Blue Tigers opened up an 11-point lead early in the second half, but an 11-3 run allowed SBU to pull within 51-48 with 13 minutes remaining. The Bearcats would come no closer than within three the rest of the way, however, as Lincoln retook a 10-point advantage and held off any comeback plans by Southwest Baptist.

Ekono finished with nine points, five boards, four assists and a steal. Thomas, meanwhile, had eight points, three assists, a rebound, a steal and a block. Tyler Lucas rounded out the Blue Tigers with a rebound.

Lincoln remains at home to host Missouri S&T on Monday night (Dec. 1) at 7:30 p.m. CST.