In a back-and-forth game that featured 18 lead changes, Lincoln coach John Moseley only cared about the last one.
Cameron Potts took a pass from L'Kielynn Taylor, drove toward two defenders and drew a foul with :05.4 remaining. He made both free throws, and the Lincoln Blue Tigers escaped Saturday with an 85-84 win against the Pittsburg State Gorillas at Jason Gym.
"It basically came down to who had the ball last," Moseley said. "We were fortunate to get the ball in Cam's hands, and to his credit, he got downhill a lot today."
Dejon Waters Jr. made both free throws for Pittsburg State with :15.6 to play, giving the Gorillas an 84-83 lead. After Pittsburg State called a timeout, Lincoln brought the ball up the court to its bench and called a timeout with :12.3 remaining.
Potts inbounded the ball to Jonell Burton, who dished it to Taylor on the left wing. Taylor threw a pass across the lane to Potts, who drove at the basket along the right side of the lane and drew a foul against a double-team.
But Potts landed hard on his right hand - his shooting hand - and took several seconds before he was able to get to his feet.
"I had something different called, but I just looked in Cam's eyes and felt he would make a play at that point," Moseley said. "I didn't know it would come to two free throws, I didn't know he'd have to battle through the adversity of having probably a finger jammed.
"But I wanted the ball in his hands to make a decision of what to do late."
The Blue Tigers were just 10-of-19 at the free-throw line as Potts stepped to the line. In fact, they shot better from the floor (55.7 percent) for the game than they did at the charity stripe (52.2 percent).
But Potts, a 47.7 percent foul shooter entering the game, swished home both attempts.
"He took a hard hit at that point," Moseley said. "I'm really proud of the way he just stepped up and made the two free throws."
Pittsburg State was called for traveling just beyond the half-court line with :01.4 on the clock. Marcel Burton was fouled with :00.6 left, but missed both free throws, leaving the Blue Tigers still with a one-point lead.
The Gorillas tried to in-bound the ball with :00.3 left, but Taylor tipped the ball as it was thrown in to end the game.
The win puts Lincoln (7-9) back above the .500 mark in MIAA play with a 4-3 record.
"This team, they're showing a little bit of resilience," Moseley said. "We've worked hard in the last two weeks."
Lincoln has attempted 20 or more 3-pointers in 11 of its 16 games this season. Last season, the Blue Tigers averaged 23.5 attempts beyond the arc per game.
On Saturday, Lincoln was just 5-of-17 from 3-point range. Instead, the Blue Tigers attacked the basket, finishing with 52 points in the paint.
"It may sound weird, because so many people are taking 3s these days, but if you make your layups and free throws, you're going to find yourself in position to win a lot of basketball games," Moseley said.
Lincoln only made two 3s in the first half, but scored 32 points in the paint in the opening 20 minutes to build a 41-36 halftime lead.
Pittsburg State (7-10, 3-5 MIAA) opened the game with a 10-4 lead, its largest of the game, but Lincoln used an 8-2 run to take back the lead at 30-27 with 4:50 to go before halftime.
Joe Davis scored six of his team's first nine points of the second half, stretching Lincoln's lead to 50-40, its largest of the game. Davis, who entered the week with 13 points in seven games, led the Blue Tigers with 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting.
"He probably hasn't made his way onto too many scouting reports," Moseley said, "but that'll change here in the next week."
The Blue Tigers finished with 53 points off the bench. Lamont Ballard Jr. had 14 points and Jordan Notch added 10 points.
"We're going to be this way, we're going to be a fun team to watch," Moseley said. "I'm not going to know (who will lead us in scoring) from night to night, so I don't know how you plan for us."
Potts and Jonell Burton added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Blue Tigers.
Lincoln held A.J. Walker, Pittsburg State's leading scorer, to just 11 points in the win. However, Michael Cherry picked up the slack with a game-high 25 points, including three baskets during the second half that switched the lead back to the Gorillas.
"To coach (Kim) Anderson's credit, his guys continued to play," Moseley said.
Lincoln is on the road to Oklahoma next week, starting Thursday with a game against Northeastern State (12-6, 5-4 MIAA). Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.