SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team rallied from a 12-point deficit to pull within two with just over four minutes remaining, but free throws by Drury in the final minutes allowed the Panthers to beat the Blue Tigers, 85-79, on Saturday (Jan. 10).

Drury (7-8, 2-5 GLVC) took a 63-51 advantage with 10:18 remaining, but Solomon Oraegbu scored five-straight points to get Lincoln (7-9, 1-7 GLVC) back within seven. D'Necco Rucker hit a layup to close the gap to five, but the Panthers made consecutive baskets to retake a nine-point lead. A layup by Max Ekono started a 7-0 run for LU that was capped by a trey from Malcolm Davis, cutting the DU advantage down to 67-65 with 4:21 to play.

A steal by Davis gave LU an opportunity to take the lead, but a three-point attempt went wide of the mark, and the Panthers responded by draining a three of their own. A quick layup from Oraegbu brought the Blue Tigers back within three, but Drury made 13 free throws down the final stretch to seal the win.

It was a battle between two great free throw-shooting programs, with LU making 11 of its 12 attempts at the charity stripe and Drury going 26-for-30. The shooting percentages were fairly even, with LU connecting at a .433 clip overall and a .333 rate from long range, while Drury respectively was .441 and .368. DU held a slim 37-36 edge in rebounding.

Oraegbu led LU with 31 points and had five rebounds to go with three assists and a steal. Tyler Chapman added 19 points and led Lincoln in rebounds (eight), assists (six) and steals (two). Davis rounded out Lincoln's double-digit scorers with 11 points, four boards and two takeaways.

Ekono ended the day with five points and six rebounds while dishing an assist and notching a steal. Rucker, meanwhile, had seven points, four boards, a block and an assist. Matthieu Biembongo tallied a block and a rebound while scoring four points. 

Robin Discamps closed the scoring for the Blue Tigers by chipping in two points, and Rashad Williams blocked two shots to go with a steal. Tyler Lucas provided two rebounds and an assist.

Lincoln travels to St. Louis, Mo. next Saturday (Jan. 17) to play Missouri-St. Louis at 3:00 p.m. CST.