Late rally comes up short for LU men

HAYS, Kan. - The Lincoln men's basketball team waited a little too long to start making its late-game push.

The Blue Tigers trailed by double digits for long stretches of the second half before making a charge at the finish line, but they ran out of time in an 88-85 loss to Fort Hays State on Saturday.

Lincoln scored nine of the game's final 10 points, but unfortunately, that came after the Blue Tigers found themselves down 87-76 with 1:21 left. A layup by Aaron Spudich plus a 3-pointer, a jumper and a layup, all by Joshua Buie, helped the charge, but the last bucket came with :01 left.

The Blue Tigers trailed by 14 points on three occasions in the second half, which was the Tigers' largest lead in the game.

Lincoln led just once, when Buie hit a jumper for the game's first score, and the contest was tied just once. After the opening bucket, Fort Hays scored the next 11 points to take control.

Buie tied Fort Hays' Craig Nicholson for game-high honors by pumping in 27 points.

Also for Lincoln, which dropped to 2-13 overall and 0-7 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, Charles Cole added 24 points and DeShon Williams had 11.

Dwayne Brunson chipped in with 20 points for Fort Hays (12-3, 4-3 MIAA).

Lincoln had one of its best shooting nights of the season, connecting on 29-of-57 (51 percent). It was the first time since Nov. 29 the Blue Tigers shot 50 percent or better from the floor. The Tigers also made 35-of-40 free throws, compared to just 18-of-25 for the Blue Tigers.

Lincoln will return to action Saturday at Missouri Southern.