JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team fought back from a 17-point deficit to pull within seven in the second half, but Truman State held off the Blue Tigers for a 70-56 win in Jason Gym on Thursday night (Feb. 13).

Franck Yetna led Lincoln in scoring with 12 points and grabbed six rebounds to go with three blocks and a steal. Andreas Fuller turned in a double-double, finishing with 10 points, 10 boards, three steals and an assist. Max Ekono and Tyler Chapman each scored nine, with Ekono collecting five rebounds and Chapman adding two boards, two assists, a steal and a block.

Truman State (16-7, 8-7 GLVC) scored the first 11 points of the night and took a 27-10 lead on a driving layup with just over eight minutes until halftime. Matthieu Biembongo, who had two rebounds on the evening, made a layup with 1:34 left in the opening half before a buzzer-beating tip-in by Fuller allowed LU to close the gap to 38-28 entering the break. Lincoln (16-7,8-7 GLVC) shot just .286 overall in the second half and only made one trey in that span as the Bulldogs remained in control of the contest.

Lincoln would get back within 56-49 of the Bulldogs with 9:30 remaining on a pair of free throws by Mikey West, but Truman State scored the next four points and the Blue Tigers never got closer than within eight points the rest of the way. TSU won the rebounding battle, 40-34, but Lincoln forced 15 turnovers while only giving the ball away on 10 occasions. LU also enjoyed a strong night at the line, posting a free throw percentage of .857.

West had seven points, a rebound and a steal and also led LU with four assists. Malcolm Davis scored seven points as well and notched a pair of takeaways while grabbing six rebounds. 

The Blue Tigers remain in Jason Gym to host Quincy on Saturday (Feb. 15) at 3:00 p.m. CST in LU's annual Think Pink Game.