It wasn't the perfect bounce-back game, but the Lincoln Blue Tigers got the job done.
Two days after struggling to shoot the basketball, Lincoln finished at 52 percent from the field Saturday, and its 3-point shooting percentage more than doubled from one game to the next.
"We didn't let the game pressure bother us," Lincoln coach John Moseley said after a 78-65 win against Central Oklahoma at Jason Gym. "We kept our foot down."
Lincoln made just 5-of-25 shots from 3 in Thursday's loss to Northeastern State. The Blue Tigers finished 11-of-23 in Saturday's win.
"This is a senior-laden bunch," Moseley said. "They've been through this league, they know what it's like. They've responded when they've been challenged, and coming off a loss makes you want to have a great day of practice.
"We spent a lot of time yesterday just shooting, because we've got guys that can shoot really well and you just want to have those guys see the ball going through the net."
It was a tough shooting night to start, however. After Lincoln won the opening tip and Amariontez Ivory scored a layup just four seconds into the game, the Blue Tigers missed their next five shots, falling behind 7-2.
Ni'Sean Rigmaiden ended the cold spell, knocking down a 3 to spark an 8-0 Lincoln run. Terrance Smith added another 3 with 14:16 left in the first half, putting the Blue Tigers back on top 10-7.
Lincoln never trailed the rest of the game, but the win was far from easy. Central Oklahoma's Adarius Avery saw to that.
The 6-foot-6 senior forward - who transferred from Loyola of Chicago after last season's Final Four run - finished the first half with a steal and a breakaway dunk in the closing seconds. That cut Lincoln's halftime lead to 39-34.
"He's certainly one of the best players I've seen in this league," Moseley said of Avery, who recorded his fifth straight double-double, finishing with game-highs of 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Lincoln began the second half much like it did the first, making its first shot before going on to miss its next three attempts.
"Neither team had much rhythm early in the second half," Moseley said. "It was kind of a slugfest, almost like at the beginning of a game when both teams are feeling each other out."
The Blue Tigers briefly stretched their lead to 10 points at 46-36 early in the second half, only to see it dwindle down to a single possession at 50-47 a few minutes later.
Central Oklahoma made another push with less than five minutes to play. However, Lincoln played one of its best possessions of the game, rotating the ball from the post to the wing to the top of the key. Grant Olsson dished a pass to John Burton, who knocked down a 3 with 2:57 to play, increasing Lincoln's lead to 70-61.
"We're at our best when we're playing for one another, not with one another," Moseley said. "This team has shared the ball as well as any team that I've had since I've been here."
Free-throw shooting was also a struggle Thursday for Lincoln, but that wasn't the case Saturday. The Blue Tigers made all six free-throw attempts in the final minute, building their biggest lead of the game when the final horn sounded.
Rigmaiden played all 40 minutes for Lincoln, leading the way with 17 points. He also finished two rebounds and two assists shy of a triple-double, leading the Blue Tigers in those categories as well.
"We've told him what he's got to do for us to be at our best, and I thought he accepted that tonight really well," Moseley said. "For him to be a leader on our team, he's got to be an extension of our head coach."
Smith and Ivory each added 16 points and Burton finished with 13 points off the bench.
Ashford Golden and Jordan Hemphill each chipped in 10 points for Central Oklahoma (8-11, 1-9 MIAA).
Lincoln (13-5, 6-3 MIAA) will play six of its 10 remaining regular-season games at home, but up next is another road trip. The Blue Tigers play Thursday at Washburn (14-4, 7-2 MIAA), which received a vote in last weeks' Division II Top 25 rankings.