By Dan Carr/Assistant AD for Media Relations
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Lincoln men’s basketball team mounted a furious second half rally, pulling to within four after trailing by as many as 21, but the Blue Tigers fell to Emporia State, 79-70, on Friday afternoon (March 3) in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
Artese Stapleton led all scorers with 26 points and dished five assists to go with four steals and three rebounds. Kevin Kone added 18 points, eight boards, a steal and a block while DJ Richardson finished with 12 points and two steals. The Blue Tigers had eight steals in the contest and created 13 turnovers, including four over the last five minutes of the game.
Facing a 55-34 deficit, Lincoln (17-10) used a 14-3 run to close the gap down to 58-46 with 7:08 remaining. Later in the half, an 8-0 run, keyed by five points from Stapleton, made it a 68-62 affair with 1:46 left in regulation. Stapleton would later drain a three to pull LU to within 74-70 with just under 40 ticks left on the clock, but Emporia State (22-7) made five free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
The Hornets were hot, shooting .500 from the floor and .478 from beyond the arc. After a cold first half, Lincoln heated up in the second to shoot .500 overall and .500 from three-point range, finishing with a .444 overall accuracy rating for the game. LU outscored ESU 46-26 in the paint, and received 21 points from its bench.
Franck Yetna just missed double figures, scoring nine points to go with seven boards and an assist. Jamar Madge, Jr. blocked a shot and had a steal to go with three points, while Sai Witt closed the scoring with two points and four rebounds.
Sam Rautins grabbed two rebounds and Tyson Robinson dished an assist. Caleb Wright, Arash Yaqubi and Emmette Page also represented the Blue Tigers in Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium.
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