Box Score (JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Nov. 20)—The McKendree University men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the 2013-14 season Wednesday with a 105-85 setback at Lincoln University in a non-conference contest.
 
The host Blue Tigers held an eight-point lead at the half, but shot nearly 64 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes of play to pull away for the victory. Wednesday's game marked the first of two meetings between the two schools over a four-day span. The Bearcats and Blue Tigers will face each other again on Saturday afternoon at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
 
Six different players scored in double figures for McKendree in the effort at Lincoln. Senior forward Will Kirksey (St. Louis, MO/Lafayette) and junior forward Jeremy Price (Chicago, IL/Curie) shared team-high scoring honors with 16 points, while Kirksey also pulled down a team-leading six rebounds. Junior guard Mike DiGregorio (Morton Grove, IL/Niles Notre Dame) and junior forward Matt Holmes (Houston, TX/Marshall) each chipped with 13 points for the Bearcats.
 
Junior guard Logan Carson (DuQuoin, IL/DuQuoin) came off the bench to post 12 points – all in the second half – and senior guard Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz) helped out with 10 points and a team-high four assists for McKendree.
 
Lincoln, which led from start to finish, scored the first seven points of the game before Kirksey scored on a lay-up to get the Bearcats into the scoring column. McKendree battled to within three points on five different occasions throughout the half, the last coming at 23-20 following a pair of free throws by Price with 11:03 left in the half. Lincoln then scored nine of the next 12 points to boost their margin to 32-23 before McKendree fought back once more. Kirksey scored on consecutive lay-ups to help the Bearcats pull within 32-27.
 
The Blue Tigers then used an 8-2 run to grab their first double-digit lead of the night, 40-29, with a little more than three minutes left until halftime. McKendree was able to shave the deficit back to single digits in the closing minutes and trailed 42-34 at the intermission.
 
In the early stages of the second half, Lincoln began to take control by consistently scoring from long range and in transition. The Blue Tigers made 7-of-11 three-point attempts in the period, and also used the fast break to spark their biggest run of the night. A 13-5 burst in the middle stages of the half extended Lincoln's lead to 75-53 with just over 10 minutes to play.
 
Both benches were productive from an offensive standpoint. The reserves from Lincoln outscored the Bearcats' bench by a margin of 32-23.
 
Like McKendree, Lincoln used a balanced offensive attack in the contest. Seven Blue Tigers reached double digits in the scoring column. Mike Smith and Clay Crouch each posted 16 points to lead the way, while Joshua Buie added 14 points. Aaron Spudich came off the bench to notch a double-double for Lincoln with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.