JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Jan. 18, 2017) -- The Mules built a 14-point second half lead, but had to withstand a late Lincoln rally to beat the Blue Tigers 66-64 on Wednesday night. Lincoln had a last second three-point attempt off the mark to give the Mules the win.
The Mules (11-5, 5-3 MIAA) had an 11-2 run midway through the second half that gave them a 52-38 lead with 11:25 to play in the game. A three-pointer from Anthony Virdure and two free throws from Richie Lewis pulled Lincoln (12-6, 5-4 MIAA) within nine just one minute later. The Mules pushed the lead back to 11 on a jumper from
Marquiez Lawrence, but a 7-2 spurt by the Blue Tigers pulled them to within six at 56-50 with 5:24 to play in the game.
UCM led by eight, 65-57, with exactly 1:17 to play in the game, but the Blue Tigers scored on a three-pointer by Virdure then forced a turnover and Jaylon Smith made two free throws to pull within three with :40. Lincoln had the ball back with a chance to tie, but Virdure turned it over. The Mules missed the front end of the one and one, however, with eight seconds left. The Mules then fouled Virdure on the inbounds so he couldn't attempt a three. He made both free throws and the lead was 65-64 with :04 to play.Â
Reaves was fouled on the ensuing inbounds and hit one of two free throws to give UCM a 66-64 lead. Lincoln called timeout with two seconds left and had one last chance, but Virdure's three-pointer glanced off the side of the rim and the Mules held on for their 18th consecutive win over the Blue Tigers and the 11th straight in Jefferson City.
The Mules opened the game on a 4-0 run and built a seven-point lead at 19-12 midway through the first half. The lead was still seven when Lincoln used a 10-2 run to grab a 24-23 lead with 4:37 to play in the first half. A three-pointer from
Jakob Lowrance and a layup from
Kyle Wolf quickly put UCM back in front by four. The Mules would push the lead back to six before leading by five, 34-29 at halftime.
Lowrance led the Mules in scoring with 14 points off the bench. Reaves finished with 12 and Wolf had 11. UCM shot 52 percent for the game, 24-of-46, but made just 5-of-20 from three-point range. They were 13-of-18 at the foul line.
Lincoln was led by Virdure's game-high 25 points. Maurice Mason had 12 points and Lewis finished with 10. The Mules held Jaylon Smith, the MIAA's second-leading scorer to just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting. LU finished the game 17-of-48 from the field for just 35 percent. The Blue Tigers were 9-of-26 from three-point range for 35 percent and 21-of-27 at the charity stripe.
The Mules return to action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to St. Charles to take on Lindenwood at 3:30 p.m.
