JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team nearly won the game in regulation, but a hot shooting by William Jewell in overtime helped the Cardinals beat the Blue Tigers, 74-60, on Thursday (Feb. 19).

Max Ekono secured a game-high 18 rebounds and scored 15 points while dishing a pair of assists. Tyler Chapman led the Blue Tigers with 19 points to go with four boards, an assist, a block and a steal. Malcolm Davis also ended the night in double figures, as he had 13 points, three rebounds and three assists.

William Jewell (17-8, 13-4 GLVC) took a 10-point lead with 7:14 remaining in the first half, but an old-fashioned three-point play by Ekono and a traditional three-pointer drained by D'Necco Rucker pulled Lincoln (11-15, 5-13 GLVC) to with 26-22 of the Cardinals. William Jewell later built its lead back up to eight, but a trey by Sterling Rivera and three from Chapman made the score 36-34 in favor of the Cardinals heading into halftime.

The Cardinals remained on top for most of the second half until another three-pointer by Rivera sprung Lincoln onto a 9-0 run. Rucker scored on a tip-in, Chapman made a pair of free throws and Ekono sank a jumper to tie the game at 51 with 5:50 remaining. A three briefly swung the lead back to WJC, but an Ekono layup followed by back-to-back buckets by Davis put LU ahead, 57-54, for the first time in the second half.

After a pair of successful free throws by William Jewell, Chapman drained a three on a turnaround jumper as the shot clock was expiring to make it a 60-56 Blue Tiger lead with 1:10 left in regulation. WJC made two more free throws to cut its deficit down to two, and a missed layup gave the Cardinals back the ball with 13.9 ticks left on the clock. Chapman blocked a shot attempt, but the Cardinals got the rebound and Lincoln was called for a foul. The Cardinals made the two baskets at the charity stripe to force overtime.

During the extra five minutes, William Jewell shot .800 overall and .714 from the line and also made its only three-point attempt. For the game, the Cardinals shot .404 from the field and .458 from long distance, and 17 of their points came at the free throw line.

Rucker ended the game with seven points, five rebounds, a steal and an assist. Rivera collected six rebounds, dished three assists and tallied a steal. Robin Discamps had three boards while Matthieu Biembongo pulled down two.

Lincoln closes its 2025-26 home slate on Saturday (Feb. 21) by hosting Rockhurst at 3:00 p.m. CST. Prior to the game, LU will hold a Senior Day ceremony to honor the graduating Blue Tigers.