TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - It has been and up-and-down start to the MIAA season for the Lincoln men's basketball team.
Since restarting conference play earlier this month, the Blue Tigers have followed every win with a loss. That trend continued Thursday night, as Northeastern State shot well from long range in a 90-71 win against Lincoln.
The RiverHawks shot 11-of-29 from 3-point range in the win. The Blue Tigers started the game 1-of-12 beyond the arc until they made three of their last four attempts in the final four minutes of the game.
Lincoln never led in the game and fell behind by as many as 26 points midway through the second half. Northeastern State led 52-36 at halftime, shooting 53.3 percent from the floor in the first half.
The Blue Tigers committed just nine turnovers, but they were outrebounded 36-29 and shot 42.9 percent from the floor in the loss.
Four Blue Tigers scored in double figures. Alafia Oluwasogo led the team with 12 points before fouling out. Cameron Potts and Joe Davis each had 11 points, while Jonell Burton added 10 points. L'Kielynn Taylor grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Kendrick Thompson led Northeastern State (13-6, 6-4 MIAA) with 27 points.
Lincoln (7-10, 4-4 MIAA) wraps up its road trip Saturday at Rogers State (15-4, 7-3 MIAA). Tip-off is at 4 p.m.
III
The Lincoln women dropped their sixth straight game Thursday, opening the MIAA doubleheader with a 67-47 loss to Northeastern State.
Like the men, the Lincoln women never had the lead in this game, as the RiverHawks opened the game on a 12-2 run.
The Blue Tigers closed the gap to 16-13 by the end of the first half and trailed just 26-22 at halftime. They cut the lead to three points midway through the third quarter, until the RiverHawks used a 7-0 run to push their lead to double-digits.
Northeastern State was ahead 47-37 by the end of the third quarter and outscored Lincoln 20-10 in the game's final 10 minutes.
Cenia Hayes scored a game-high 22 points for Northeastern State (5-12, 3-7 MIAA), going 9-of-9 at the free-throw line. Cielo McClain added a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Kaloni Pryear led the Blue Tigers with 13 points. Vivian Chigbu posted a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds and Kyessence Collins came off the bench to add 11 points.
Lincoln (3-14, 0-8 MIAA) plays Saturday at Rogers State (2-17, 0-10 MIAA), as each team looks for its first MIAA win of the season. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.