For 35 minutes, the Lincoln Blue Tigers went toe-to-toe with the No. 1 team in the nation.
All it took was a one-minute opening for the Northwest Missouri Bearcats create just enough breathing room to escape Jason Gym with an 80-75 win Thursday night.
Not even a career-high 50 points from Anthony Virdure against the second-best scoring defense in Division II was enough for the Blue Tigers to pull off the upset against the undefeated Bearcats.
"I want to start by saying I don't believe in moral victories, but we have a lot of positive to take out of this performance tonight," Lincoln coach John Moseley said. "Anthony had one of the single greatest performances that I've witnessed as a coach."
Virdure's 50 points are tied for eighth most in a single game in league play in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association history.
Thursday was the first time since late November that Northwest Missouri (20-0, 12-0 MIAA) had won by just a single-digit margin. The Bearcats have won 16 games by 10 or more points.
"It was as fun of a game as we've played all year," Northwest Missouri coach Ben McCollum said. "Lincoln executed great, they defended well and they competed. It was such a fun atmosphere."
Lincoln, which led 31-30 at halftime, was trailing 56-52 with five minutes to play. Ryan Welty knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing, then Justin Pitts followed with another 3 on the ensuing possession to stretch the Bearcats' lead to 10 points.
The Bearcats had finally built a double-digit lead for the first time all game, although the Blue Tigers won the scoring battle for the final four minutes.
"At halftime, the only thing that stood between us beating the No. 1 team was 20 minutes," Moseley said. "They had the critical stretch with back-to-back 3s in the second half, and that's when they got a little bit of a lead on us."
Virdure scored 35 points in the second half, including Lincoln's first 14 points after the break. He answered with a 3-pointer with 4:01 to play to cut the Bearcats' lead back to seven points.
Then, while Northwest Missouri added to its lead at the free-throw line in the final two minutes, Virdure made back-to-back 3s to trim the lead to 74-67 with 1:05 to play.
With 46 points entering the final minute of play, Virdure make a pair of free throws with :21 left, then drove for a wide-open layup with :11 to play to reach the 50-point plateau.
He fouled out two seconds later, leaving the court to a standing ovation. Only two other Division II players have scored at least 50 points in a single game this season.
"He played awesome," said McCollum, who admitted he had never coached a game that produced a 50-point performance by either team until Thursday. "He was focused. He competed defensively, he competed offensively. Anthony was really good tonight."
Virdure finished 18-of-28 from the field, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range. The other four players on the court worked to get Virdure the ball down the stretch, setting up screens to give him opens looks at 3, or to isolate him one-on-one and let him drive to the basket.
Lincoln held Pitts to just two points in the first half, but the reigning MIAA Player of the Year scored 18 in the second half to finish with a team-high 20 points.
"That's what the best players do," Moseley said. "His team needed him to raise the level of play and he was able to do so. We did a really good job on him in the first half, but we let him get loose a couple of times in the second."
Lincoln only led for the final :00.7 of the first half after Virdure made 1-of-2 free throws and then the first 15 seconds of the second half, when Xavier Kurth made two free throws to give the Bearcats the 32-31 edge.
For the other 19:44, Lincoln was on the chase and found a way to stay within range of Northwest Missouri. The Bearcats led 17-10 with 12 minutes to go in the first half, then the Blue Tigers answered with a 7-0 run to tie the game.
Jaylon Smith added seven points for Lincoln. Tacourrus Mattox and Maurice Mason each had five points.
Lincoln (13-9, 6-7 MIAA) will host Missouri Western at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
"They tested every ounce of toughness we had," McCollum said. "Coach Moseley does an excellent job. He's recruited the right kids, they score the ball well and they execute. That's a testament to what he's done."