The Lincoln men’s basketball team dug itself too big of a hole to climb out of Thursday night at the Missouri Southern Lions. The Blue Tigers fell behind by as many as 16 points in the second half before falling short in their comeback bid in an 83-77 defeat in MIAA play.
The Lincoln Blue Tigers won on the defensive end Saturday against the Central Missouri Mules at Jason Gym.
Lincoln held Central Missouri to just 32 percent shooting from the floor and used a big second half to pull away for a 62-53 victory in MIAA play.
After all the magic the Lincoln Blue Tigers had pulled off at Jason Gym this season, it felt inevitable they would erase their 15-point deficit Saturday against the Emporia State Hornets and find a way to win on Senior Day. But the Blue Tigers ran out of magic tricks and fell just short, as a game-high 32 points from Owen Long pushed the Hornets to a 72-66 victory and into sole possession of third place in the MIAA with two games left.
It had been since December 1957 since the Lincoln Blue Tigers had beaten the Washburn Ichabods at home. That ended Thursday night, as the Blue Tigers jumped out to an early lead and held on late for a 64-58 victory against the Ichabods for an MIAA win in front of a season-high 1,101 people in attendance at Jason Gym.
The momentum and hype around the Lincoln men’s basketball team continues to grow, and Jefferson City continues to show out at Jason Gym for its hometown team.
The crowd made all the difference Thursday night in the MIAA contest between the Missouri Southern Lions and the Blue Tigers, as Lincoln pulled away for a 76-57 victory down the stretch in front of a raucous Jason Gym crowd.