Lincoln men fall to defending champs

In the men's game, defending NCAA Division II national champion Central Missouri jumped out to a 37-18 halftime lead and defeated Lincoln 67-47.

After the Mules scored the game's first basket, the Blue Tigers scored seven straight points to take their biggest lead of the game. Central Missouri battled back to tie the game at 9, then went on a 13-0 run to take the lead for good at 22-9.

After a Lincoln basket, Central Missouri scored 12 of the next 13 points to open a 34-12 lead with 3:41 left in the half before settling on the 19-point advantage at the break.

The Mules led by as many as 27 points in the second half, the final time coming at 66-39 with 4:26 remaining.

T.J. White had 12 points and seven rebounds to lead Central Missouri (20-4, 11-4), while Kyle Wolf added 11. It's the third straight 20-win season for OVERSET FOLLOWS:the Mules.

Blake Raling had 12 points and five rebounds for Lincoln. Joshua Buie had 11 points and seven assists, while Aaron Spudich chipped in with 10 points.

Lincoln (4-20, 1-14) is back in action Saturday afternoon against Southwest Baptist in Bolivar. Game time is 3:30 p.m.