When Sevon Witt picked up two fouls in a span of a minute midway through the first half, he didn't see the floor again until the second half.
Lincoln coach John Moseley wanted to make sure the 6-foot-8 Witt would be available at the end of an anticipated close battle with the Missouri Southern Lions.
Witt scored eight points in the first six minutes of the second half and played the final 20 minutes to lead the Blue Tigers to a 76-68 win Saturday against the previously unbeaten Lions at Jason Gym.
"Him and Cam (Martin) I think are two of the best bigs in this league," Moseley said. "It was fun to watch those guys battle today."
The 6-9 Martin scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 24 minutes for the Lions.
Martin attempted to provide a spark from outside, but after knocking down a 3-pointer from the wing for the Lions' first points of the second half, he missed his final three long-range attempts.
Kyle Younge and Winston Dessesow each added a 3 in the early going of the second half, but the Lions were limited to 5-of-19 shooting from beyond the arc.
"I really thought our guards did a really good job defensively," Moseley said. "They did hit a few 3s, but I thought we tried to make everything tough for them."
With Witt and Cameron Potts taking control of the offense to begin the second half, Missouri Southern needed those 3s to keep up after trailing 33-28 at halftime.
Lincoln got its lead to 56-43 on a Witt layup with 11:29 remaining and a Potts free throw made the score 62-47 with 8:16 on the clock.
However, Missouri Southern (3-1) went to Martin for a pair of three-point plays during a 15-5 run to pull within five (67-62) with 3:21 remaining.
Lincoln guard Quinton Drayton then went on the attack for eight of his 16 points to close out the team's second victory in the season's first two games.
"Another total team win," Moseley said.
Potts finished with 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and Ni'Sean Rigmaiden added 11 points.
Stepping in for Witt during the first half was 6-8 junior DaMani Jarrett, who had five points and four rebounds in 24 minutes.
Jarrett, a former Jefferson City Jay, was also asked to play along with Witt during stretches of the second half.
"I challenged him quite a bit at halftime," Moseley said. "We get to see DaMani every day. DaMani gets to guard one of the best players in this league, Sevon, every day in practice, and he more than holds his own.
"We need him to get out there when the popcorn is poppin' and relax and play basketball. He's a good player. He's got bright days ahead of him and I was really proud of the effort he put in."
Lincoln never trailed in the game, scoring the game's first six points.
The lead reached 22-8 midway through the first half on a Rigmaiden 3-pointer from the corner.
"We put them in some tough positions defensively," Moseley said. "We were able to kind of control there for a little bit."
Missouri Southern got within one at 27-26 on a RJ Smith layup before Lincoln closed out the half on a 6-2 spurt.
Stan Scott recorded team-highs in points (16), rebounds (11) and steals (four) for the Lions.
Dessesow and Christian Bundy added 11 points each for Missouri Southern, which was coached by assistant Paul McMahon.
McMahon, a former Jefferson City Jay, has been filling in as head coach while Jeff Boschee has been in quarantine.
Missouri Southern is scheduled to host Northeastern State on Thursday.
Lincoln will be on the road for the first time this season Thursday, when the Blue Tigers take on Missouri Western.