SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Solomon Oraegbu poured in 35 points, but the Lincoln men's basketball team fell to Illinois-Springfield, 85-76, on Thursday (Jan. 29).

Oraegbu shot 10-for-18 overall and 11-for-12 at the free throw line, collected five rebounds and dished an assist. Amar Kadic also scored in double figures, finishing with 13 points, five boards, a block and a steal. Max Ekono led LU with 10 rebounds, scored nine points and tallied three assists.

With 9:10 to play in the first half, Oraegbu made a pair of free throws to cut the Prairie Star lead down to 20-19. Illinois-Springfield (13-6, 9-2 GLVC) scored the next points, however, and used a 12-0 run down the stretch to go into halftime with a 45-28 lead. 

In the second half, a dunk by Kadic sprung Lincoln (8-12, 2-10 GLVC) onto a 17-0 run that brought the Blue Tigers back within 50-48 with 15 minutes left in regulation. By the 7:38 mark, LU had the scored knotted at 61 after a successful jumper by Tyler Chapman. The teams kept battling, and the Blue Tigers finally took a 73-71 lead on a trey by Malcolm Davis with 2:24 remaining.

The Prairie Stars drained a three of their own to retake the lead, and made seven free throws down the stretch to secure the win. Lincoln ended the night with a 40-34 advantage in rebounding, but shot .365 from the field while UIS shot .474 overall and .500 from long distance.

Davis finished with eight points, four boards and four assists while Chapman supplied six points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal. Sterling Rivera and Elliott Yorke, Jr. each made free throws, with Rivera additionally dishing three assists and grabbing a pair of rebounds. Robin Discamps rounded out the scoring with three points and a rebound.

Matthieu Biembongo had seven rebounds, an assist and a steal. D'Necco Rucker also tallied a takeaway and Tyler Lucas grabbed a rebound.

Lincoln travels to Indianapolis, Ind. on Saturday (Jan. 31) to play Indianapolis at 2:00 p.m. CST.