EDMOND, Okla - It was a loss the Lincoln women could ill-afford.
In a fight for the final berth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Tournament, the Blue Tigers dropped an 88-79 decision to Central Oklahoma, a team below Lincoln in the conference standings.
Lincoln now sits at 9-12 overall and 4-9 in the conference. That league mark is good for a tie for 11th, or 12th depending on how you look at it, with Southwest Baptist. Technically, however, the Blue Tigers sit in 12th thanks to a head-to-head loss to the Bearcats.
Nebraska-Kearney sits at 3-10 and Central Oklahoma is now 2-11. Lindenwood is 1-12 but is ineligible for postseason play anyway.
Lincoln likely needs a couple wins with three of their last five games coming on the road.
Tied at 72 with 4:51 to play in the game, Central Oklahoma scored seven straight points on a 3-pointer and layup from McKenzie Solberg and a pair of free throws from Britney Morgan.
Lincoln got to within 83-79 on a layup from Arriana Walker with 55 seconds remaining but the Bronchos hit their free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Morgan led Central Oklahoma with 23 points, hitting 11-of-12 foul shots. Alyssa Fuxa added 15, Solberg had 12 and Savannah Hamilton scored 11.
Freddie Sims paced Lincoln with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Walker added 16 points and seven assists and Dahlia Booker tallied 14 points.
Former Jefferson City Lady Jay Nesha Wright grabbed eight rebounds and scored seven points.
Lincoln now has a week off before traveling to Central Missouri on Saturday.
III
The men didn't fare any better than the women. Lincoln stayed within striking distance the entire game but couldn't pull ahead, dropping an 89-80 decision to Central Oklahoma,
Lincoln hung around in the first half, taking a 33-31 lead on a jumper by Greg Motley. But Central Oklahoma ended the half on a 9-0 run to take a 40-33 halftime lead.
Lincoln, which got 29 points off turnovers, cut the deficit to 43-41 early in the second half on a 3-pointer by Cedric Ridle Jr. But Lincoln got no closer. Central Oklahoma led by as many as 13 in the second half.
Lincoln's trouble centered around stopping Josh Gibbs. He scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Spencer Smith added 10 points and 13 rebounds. Central Oklahoma (10-11, 8-5 MIAA) shot 51 percent from the floor.
Ridle led Lincoln with 27 points. Charles Cole finished with 20, Montez Fifer had 14 and Motley had 12 points.
Lincoln (3-20, 2-11 MIAA) plays again Saturday at Central Missouri.