Complete Game Notes
Game #30: No. 4 Lincoln (21-8) vs. No. 1 Missouri S&T (24-4)
Date: Friday, March 8, 2025
Time: 12:00 p.m. CST
Site: Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
Tickets: Available at www.GLVCSports.com
Live Video: https://www.glvcsn.com/
Live Stats: https://glvcsports.com/sidearmstats/mbball
Radio: 88.9 FM KJLU - www.KJLURadio.com
 
THE TIP OFF:  The Lincoln men's basketball team will play Missouri S&T in the semifinals of the 2025 GLVC Championship on Saturday (March 8). The two teams will tip off in Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo. on the campus of Lindenwood University at 12:00 p.m. CST. It will be the third meeting of the season between the Blue Tigers and the Miners, who enter Saturday's match-up ranked No. 10 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll. The teams played in Jefferson last week, with Missouri S&T squeaking out a 79-75 win in Jason Gym on Feb. 27. The first meeting was in Rolla, Mo. on Dec. 2, when the Miners won, 72-54. Lincoln has won nine of its last 12 games, including defeating Lewis in the quarterfinalsof the tournament, 62-59, on Friday afternoon (March 7).
 
FAST BREAKS
- Missouri S&T and Lincoln have met 82 times, and LU leads the series, 42-39.
 
- Lincoln and Missouri S&T have met twice in postseason play, with the Blue Tigers winning both times. Lincoln defeated the Miners, 86-84, in the 1976 NCAA Division II regional tournament. The teams also played one another in the 1981 MIAA tournament, with LU winning, 79-61.
 
- A win on Saturday would put Lincoln into a conference tournament championship game for the first time since reaching the MIAA tourney finals in 1987.
 
PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  With 15.6 ppg. and 6.6 rpg., Franck Yetna leads Lincoln in scoring and is second in rebounding. Andreas Fuller averages 12.9 points and 6.3 boards while Tyler Chapman averages 13.6 points and a team-high 3.1 assists. Mikey West is next on the scoring list with 11.3 points per game while Max Ekono leads the Blue Tigers with 6.9 rebounds per night. LU's other key contributor is Malcolm Davis with 7.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest.
 
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 trio 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:  Lewis nearly rallied from a 15-point deficit, but Tyler Chapman stole the ball in the final seconds and hit a pair of free throws to win, 62-59, in the GLVC quarterfinal round on Friday (March 7). Chapman led LU with 20 points, Andreas Fuller had 19 points and nine boards and Franck Yetna finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
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SCOUTING THE MINERS:  Andrew Young leads Missouri S&T with 16.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, with the team averaging 84.3 points and 37.5 boards for the season. Lovell Williams is next on the scoring chart with 13.4 ppg., followed by Ryan Sroka with 11.2.
 
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 three-straight winning seasons and the top seed in this year's GLVC tournament. 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.
 
ALL-CONFERENCE:  Two Blue Tigers were named to the All-GLVC team after helping LU earn the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. Franck Yetna was named to the All-GLVC first team as well as the GLVC's All-Defensive team. Tyler Chapman, meanwhile, was selected to the All-GLVC second team.
 
AMONG THE BEST IN THE MIDWEST:  Lincoln is ranked eighth in the final Midwest Regional rankings of 2024-25. The regional rankings are used to determine who makes the NCAA DII tournament field, with the winners of the three conference championships in each region getting automatic bids. The final five at-large spots are given to the top-five non-tournament winners in the region.
 
NIFTY FIFTY:  With an 83-64 win at Rockhurst on February 20, head coach Jimmy Drew earned his 50th victory in his three-year tenure at Lincoln. Drew led LU to the second-biggest turnaround in Division II in his first season, leading the team to 17 wins after the Blue Tigers had won only four in 2021-22. Last year, Drew led LU to 15 wins, and, this season, guided Lincoln to a 21-8 mark for 53 total career victories.
 
ATTACK THE GLASS:  Lincoln has been strong on the glass, pulling down 38.5 rebounds per game, the 43rd-most in Division II. LU averages 27.3 defensive rebounds, the third-most in the GLVC, and 11.3 offensive rebounds, also the third-most in the league. LU's 6.1 rebound margin leads the GLVC and is 22nd-best in NCAA Division II.
 
SHUTDOWN DEFENSE:  The Blue Tigers have allowed opponents to shoot just .391 from the field, giving LU the best field goal defense in the GLVC and the fourth-best in NCAA Division II. Lincoln doesn't allow many points overall, as LU has the nation's seventh-best scoring defense (63.6). Lincoln is also 52nd nationally in blocks per game (3.9, the third-most in the GLVC).
 
QUITE FRANCKLY:  Franck Yetna has scored at least 10 points in 26 of LU's 29 games this season and leads the team with 15.6 points per contest. Yetna reached a season high with 34 points against Quincy and has six total games with at least 20 points. Yetna also has four double-doubles this season and is second on the team with 6.6 rebounds per contest.
 
FULL HOUSE:  Andreas Fuller has only played in 11 games this year, but he has made his presence felt. Since joining the active roster on Jan. 30, Fuller has averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals. In each of the last nine games, Fuller has scored at least 10 points, with a season-high 21 against Lewis on Feb. 8.
 
A FINE CHAP:  Tyler Chapman is leading Lincoln, and is ranked ninth in the GLVC, in assists with 3.1 per game. Chapman, who averages 13.4 points, is a fantastic shooter, with his .449 accuracy rate from three-point range ranking as the second-best in the league. For the season, Chapman is shooting .443 from the field and .879 at the line.
 
TO THE MAX:  Lincoln's top rebounder is Max Ekono, who averages 6.9 rebounds per contest, eighth-most in the GLVC. Ekono's 201 total rebounds are the sixth-most in the conference while his 5.1 defensive boards per game rates eighth. Ekono has pulled down at least 10 rebounds in five of the past six games.
 
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:  If Lincoln wins on Saturday, it will advance to the GLVC Championship game on Sunday (March 9) at 1:00 p.m. CST.