The Lincoln (Mo.) men’s basketball team won its first conference tournament championship in its first season as a Great Lakes Valley Conference member.
The Blue Tigers claimed the conference title after beating Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) 58-51 in the tournament final.
Andreas Fuller led Lincoln with 19 points on 54% shooting from the field and six rebounds. Tyler Chapman scored 16 points, while Franck Yetna had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Lincoln entered the GLVC tourney as the four-seed after finishing the regular season with a 20-8 overall record, including a 12-8 conference record.
They opened the tournament overcoming a late second-half rally against Lewis (led by as many as 15 points), escaping with a 62-59 win.
In the semifinals, the Blue Tigers took down the regular season champion Missouri S&T, blitzing them in the second half in an 87-64 victory.
This marked Lincoln’s first conference championship game appearance since 1987.
For example, in their first two conference tournament games, this contest came down to the second half after entering tied 29-29.
Fuller gave the team a considerable push to begin the second half, scoring six of their first eight points as part of an 8-0 run through the first two minutes.
After UMSL answered with a 12-3 run to regain the lead, both teams engaged in a back-and-forth contest leading into the final minutes.
With the score tied 48-48 with 7:23 remaining, UMSL went scoreless over the next six minutes, beginning with a missed free throw on an and-one that would have given them the lead.
Meanwhile, Lincoln scored six unanswered points before closing the game at the free-throw line.
Lincoln joins CIAA champion Virginia State and SIAC champion Savannah State on a list of HBCU men’s basketball teams to receive automatic bids in the NCAA Division II Basketball tournament.
This will be the Blue Tigers’ first NCAA tournament appearance since 1981.
