ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lincoln University junior Mike Smith led three Blue Tigers in double figures with a game-high 21 points, but it wasn't enough as Lindenwood posted an 82-75 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association win Saturday.
Mario Bass finished with 15 points, while Greg Motley added 14 to help pace Lincoln (3-23, 2-11), which was 27-of-79 from the field, 10-of-38 from beyond the arc and 11-of-13 from the free-throw line.
Lindenwood (11-17, 6-12) was just 22-of-53 from the field, but the Lions hit 29-of-40 from the charity stripe.
Lindenwood led by as many as seven late in the first half, but Lincoln was able to cut its deficit to 36-33 entering the break.
The Lions jumped out to a 58-42 lead in the first seven minutes of the second half, but the Blue Tigers went on a 14-3 run to cut their deficit to five with 10 minutes remaining.
That's as close as they would get.
Lincoln will close out the 2013-14 campaign at home when the Blue Tigers host Missouri Southern at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
III
The Lincoln women's basketball team let an 11-point lead slip away as Lindenwood claimed a 63-56 win against the Blue Tigers in a MIAA matchup Saturday.
Angela Randall scored 15 points, while Hunter Yoakum added 14 and Jennifer Rosado chipped in with 10 to lead Lincoln (5-20, 2-16).
The Blue Tigers led 30-19 with 1:25 to play in the first half, but that's when things started to fall apart.
Lindenwood (14-11, 9-9) cut its deficit to 30-24 entering the break before tying the game at 34 with 15:45 left in the second half.
The teams traded leads five times in the next 11 minutes before the Lions closed out the contest on a 9-2 run.
Lincoln was 22-of-57 (38.6 percent) from the field and just 8-of-16 from the free-throw line.
Jenny Rocha and Kassidy Gengenbacher both finished with 17 points to lead Lindenwood, which was 21-of-48 (43.8 percent) from the field and 19-of-22 from the charity stripe.
Lincoln will close out the season at home when the Blue Tigers host Missouri Southern at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.