Lincoln men fall to St. Mary's

JOPLIN, Mo. - Victor Scott scored 20 points, Joshua Buie chipped in with 18 and Mike Smith finished with 15, but it wasn't enough for Lincoln as the Blue Tigers suffered a 78-74 loss Saturday against St. Mary's (Kan.) in the second round of the Freeman Sports/Chris Tucker Memorial Classic.

Lincoln (1-4) trailed for most of the game and faced a 73-66 deficit with 2:10 to play, but Buie converted on a three-point play to make it 77-74 with 11 seconds left.

That's as close as Lincoln would get.

Zach Schraeder contributed with eight points to help lead Lincoln's offensive attack. The Blue Tigers were 26-of-55 from the field and 15-of-21 from the free-throw line.

Lincoln claimed a 37-28 rebounding advantage, but the Blue Tigers committed 23 turnovers while suffering their third straight loss.

Jordan Thomas did most of the damage on offense for St. Mary's (5-3). The 6-foot-5 guard poured in a game-high 39 points and was the only player for the Spires to score in double figures.

St. Mary's was 21-for-51 from the field and 26-37 from the charity stripe.

The Spires led by nine with 12:42 left in the first half, but the Blue Tigers were able to tie it at 28 before entering the break trailing, 38-33.

A layup by Buie gave Lincoln a 47-46 lead with 13:11 to play, but St. Mary's went on a 28-18 run to go up by 11 with 1:18 to play and the Spires were able to hold off a late attack by the Blue Tigers.

Lincon will play its home opener at 7 p.m. Monday against Illinois-Springfield at Jason Gym.

On Friday, Mid-American Christian jumped out to 16-point halftime lead and held on to claim a 79-62 win against Lincoln in the first round of the tournament.

Greg Motley led Lincoln with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Malcolm McDonald added 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Buie finished with 11.

Smith added nine points and victor Scott finished with eight for the Blue Tigers, who were 23-of-62 from the field and 9-of-16 from the free-throw line.

Mid-America Christian, which was 28-of-71 from the field and 16-of-21 from the charity stripe, placed six players in double figures while improving to 6-1 on the season.

Reggie Davis and Chris Runnels both scored 17 points, while Semar Farris chipped in with 14 and Jerrick Massenburge added 12 for Mid-America Christian.

The Evangels claimed a 46-45 advantage in rebounds and forced 19 Lincoln turnovers.