It was not always pretty, but the Lincoln Blue Tigers picked up their first MIAA victory under coach Jimmy Drew after beating the Newman Jets 59-58 Thursday night at Jason Gym.
The Blue Tigers shot just 34.5 percent from the field and made just three 3s but found a way to get it done.
“We got fighters in our locker room,” Drew said. “Right now we are searching for who we are offensively. We just haven’t quite clicked the last couple games like we’ve needed to, but our guys just keeping digging deep and finding whatever they need to on the defensive end to do what it takes.
“Tonight it wasn’t pretty, but we did what it took. I’m proud of the way the guys bounced back.”
It was a great start for the Blue Tigers, as they jumped out to an 11-2 lead less than three minutes in.
But Lincoln scored just 12 points in the next 14 minutes and trailed 28-23 with 1:23 left in the first half, forcing Drew to call a timeout and talk over the final seconds of the first.
“The message was just that, let’s execute,” he said. “We called a timeout just to settle our guys in. We were throwing the ball away and they weren’t really pressuring us into that. We were just beating ourselves. I just told them to settle in and execute.”
Message received, as DJ Richardson and Emmette Page knocked down the Blue Tigers’ first two 3s of the game to give them a 29-28 halftime advantage.
Lincoln used another hot start to the second half and jumped ahead 37-31. But another offensive slump hit, allowing Newman to slowly chip away before tying the game at 47 with 7:41 left.
The game remained knotted at 47 until the 4:29 mark, when Triston Turner hit a free throw to put the Jets ahead by one.
“Sometimes we get out of character and take forced shots for no reason,” Drew said. “Our message to our guys is give up a good shot for a great shot. Tonight I don’t think we did that.”
The Blue Tigers held a 51-50 lead with two minutes to go, but a 3 from Page and a pair of free throws by Kevin Kone gave them full control with a 56-50 lead with 1:17 left.
Lincoln shot just 3-for-8 from the free-throw line down the stretch, but it was enough as the Blue Tigers’ defense held strong and gave them the win.
Stevie Strong hit a 3 at the buzzer for Newman to take it from a four-point margin to one.
“That’s what we hang our hat on,” Drew said. “Every night we know we are going to bring that, whether our shots or going in or not. We want to be an every night team defensively because that’s what keeps you in games.”
Lincoln (4-1, 1-1 MIAA) was led by the duo of Artese Stapleton and Kevin Kone. Stapleton had a team-high 16 points, but Kone picked up his fourth double-double in five games in a Blue Tiger uniform, grabbing 22 rebounds and scoring 14 points.
“(Kone) does it every night,” Drew said. “It’s just one of those things that you look down at the score sheet at the end of the night and you’re just blown away by it. I’m almost numb to it at this point.”
Newman (4-3, 0-1) was led by point guard Ian Lee, who finished with 19 points and six rebounds.
The Blue Tigers will now shift their focus to hosting seventh-ranked Central Oklahoma (6-0, 1-0) at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Bronchos beat Central Missouri 64-58 on the road Thursday night for their first MIAA victory.