Two of the top 25 ranked teams in NCAA Division II will play this week at Jason Gym.
Up first for the Lincoln men's basketball team is a rematch against the Northwest Missouri Bearcats, who are ranked No. 3 in the NABC Division II Top 25 poll. Tip-off for the men's game of tonight's doubleheader is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Northwest Missouri, which also received two of the 16 first-place votes in the poll, enters the game with a 10-1 record atop the MIAA standings. The Bearcats' lone loss was an 84-82 overtime defeat Jan. 7 at home against Washburn.
Since then, Northwest Missouri has won its last five games, including a 90-68 victory last Saturday against Central Oklahoma.
In their Dec. 5 meeting at Maryville, Northwest Missouri - then ranked No. 1 - routed Lincoln 84-54.
Leading the Bearcats is Ryan Hawkins, a 6-foot-7 senior forward who averages 20.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Hawkins was named the MIAA player of the week Monday, averaging 26.5 points and 11 rebounds in two games last week.
Northwest Missouri, which averages 80.4 points per game, has four players averaging 10 or more points per game. Trevor Hudgins, a 6-0 junior guard, is behind Hawkins with 19.3 points per game and averages 5.7 assists.
Diego Bernard, a 6-0 junior guard, and Wes Dreamer, a 6-7 sophomore forward, average 13.0 and 10.1 points, respectively.
Lincoln (7-3) has won five of its last six games, including a 91-76 victory last Saturday against Northeastern State. The Blue Tigers are 6-1 at home this season and are currently fourth in the MIAA standings.
Derrick Woods, a 6-5 junior forward transfer from Arkansas-Monticello, leads Lincoln in scoring, averaging 20 points per game in two contests since joining the roster last week.
Quinton Drayton, a 6-4 junior guard, is averaging 18.1 points per game for the Blue Tigers, while Sevon Witt, a 6-8 junior forward, is next with 16.4 points to go with a team-high 8.9 rebounds per game. Witt missed both games last week for Lincoln, but he is expected to return for tonight's game.
Drayton, who averaged 26.5 points in last week's two games, was named the Black College Sports Network small school men's basketball player of the week.
Also scoring in double figures this season for the Blue Tigers - who are averaging 76.1 points per game - are 6-1 senior guard Cameron Potts (10.8) and 5-11 junior guard Yaniel Vidal (10.6).
Northwest Missouri has won the last 13 meetings in the all-time series, holding a 54-30 lead. Lincoln last defeated the Bearcats on Dec. 18, 2015, in a 79-74 win at Jason Gym.
The Blue Tigers will wrap up a four-game homestand Saturday when they host No. 23 Missouri Western. Game time is set for 3 p.m.
III
Tonight's doubleheader begins at 5:30 p.m. with the women's game, as Lincoln looks for its first win of the season.
Northwest Missouri (4-7) has lost five of its last six games, including a 61-51 decision last Saturday against Central Oklahoma.
The Bearcats average 54.9 points per game. They are led by Molly Hartnett, a 5-9 freshman guard who is averaging 13.9 points per game.
Also scoring in double figures for Northwest Missouri are Jaelyn Haggard, a 5-5 senior guard, with 10.4 points per game, and Emma Atwood, a 5-10 freshman guard/forward, with 10.3 points. However, Atwood has not played since the Dec. 5 game against the Blue Tigers.
In that meeting in Maryville, Northwest Missouri won 85-55, the only time the Bearcats have scored more than 70 points in a contest this season.
Lincoln (0-12) is coming off an 89-79 double-overtime loss last Saturday to Northeastern State.
The Blue Tigers, who are averaging 65 points per game, are led by Niyah Jackson, a 5-5 sophomore guard who is averaging 14.8 points per game. She has scored in double figures in 11 of Lincoln's 12 game.
AJ Bradley, a 5-3 freshman guard, is next in the scoring column for Lincoln with 12.3 points per game.
In the women's series, Northwest Missouri holds a 39-10 lead, winning the last three matchups. The Blue Tigers last defeated the Bearcats 64-51 on Feb. 9, 2019, at Jason Gym.