Central Missouri denies Lincoln men of another upset bid

WARRENSBURG, Mo. - The Lincoln Blue Tigers led by six points at halftime, but the Central Missouri Mules staged a second-half rally to take a 67-57 victory in MIAA men's basketball action Thursday night.

Lincoln held Central Missouri to 25 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes to take a 27-21 advantage into intermission. The Blue Tigers led by as many as eight points in the half, that coming at 27-19 on a 3-pointer by Maurice Mason in the final minute.

But the Mules got hot in the second half, improving to 64 percent from the field.

Lincoln's final lead of the night came with 14:57 remaining on a layup by Calvin Chambers that made it 34-32. Central Missouri then outscored Lincoln 25-11 in the next nine-plus minutes to take a 59-45 advantage. Central Missouri's biggest lead of the night was 15, that coming with a little more than a minute to play.

John Burton had a game-high 18 points to pace the Blue Tigers (8-10 overall, 2-7 MIAA). Amariontez Ivory added 16, while Chambers chipped in with 10. Marquise Williams pulled down 11 rebounds for Lincoln.

D.J. Richardson led three Mules in double figures with 16 points. Matt Wilkinson added 14, while Jakob Lowrance totaled 11 for Central Missouri (14-3, 6-2).

In the women's game, Lincoln kept within striking distance of Central Missouri until the fourth quarter, when the Jennies pulled away for a 71-53 win.

Lincoln's only lead of the game occurred when Davenport Brantley knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Blue Tigers a 9-7 edge with 4:49 to go in the opening quarter.

The Jennies, ranked No. 10 in NCAA Division II, answered less than 10 seconds later with a 3 by Sydney Crockett to retake the lead. Central Missouri was ahead 16-14 after one quarter and 37-31 at halftime.

Lincoln, which did not score in the first four minutes of the second half, finished the third quarter on a 12-2 run. Tyler Brown-Henderson's layup with 1:01 in the quarter cut Central Missouri's lead to 50-47.

The Blue Tigers were held to six points in the fourth quarter.

Bre Coleman led Lincoln (3-14, 0-9 MIAA) with 13 points and eight rebounds. Citlali Lopez also reached double figures with 10 points to go with four steals.

Megan Skaggs scored a game-high 20 points to lead Central Missouri (14-1, 8-0 MIAA).

Lincoln continues its road trip Saturday with a doubleheader at Southwest Baptist in Bolivar. The women's game tips off at 1:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 3:30 p.m.