Smith Scores 34 as Lincoln Wins Show Me State Classic

ST. CHARLES, Missouri -- Jaylon Smith scored 34 points and Tacourrus Mattox pulled down 11 rebounds as the Lincoln men's basketball team defeated Harris Stowe, 80-57, to win the Show Me State Classic on Saturday (Dec. 3).

Lincoln (6-2) out-scored the Hornets 46-22 in the first half after shooting .457 from the floor and .786 at the free throw line. The Blue Tigers ended up shooting .443 for the game and finished with a 44-32 edge in rebounding and a 14-24 advantage in turnovers. Harris Stowe (2-6) was held to .240 shooting in the first half and .321 for the game.

Smith, who finished just one point shy of his career-high total of 35, had 24 points by the end of the first half. Smith, who also grabbed seven rebounds and had a pair of steals, was 12-for-25 from the floor and a perfect 7-for-7 at the line. Mattox, meanwhile, added six points and a pair of blocks.



Anthony Virdure and O'Shai Clark each also had six points apiece, with Virdure also tallying three boards, a pair of assists, two steals and a block. Clark provided three assists to the winning effort. Chase Morfeld also had three assists and made a pair of free throws to go with two rebounds.

The two teams opened the game by trading shots, but Lincoln broke a 4-4 tie with a 23-0 run, capped off by back-to-back dunks by Darrius Spencer. The closest Harris Stowe came to a comeback afterwards was a 63-47 deficit with 6:04 left in the game, as Lincoln which led by 27 at one point, held a 20-point advantage for most of the afternoon. Four-straight points by Smith put Lincoln back up by 22, and Maurice Mason hit a trey to stifle the Hornet rally.

Mason scored nine points, pulled down six rebounds and had a pair of steals while Spencer finished with four points, three boards and an assist. Kevin Bolen also scored four while Richie Lewis added four points, five rebounds, two three steals, a pair of assists and a block. Rod Ollison provided three points and five boards while Alexander Nailes closed out the scoring with two points. Deionte Wilson also represented Lincoln on the court with a rebound.

The Blue Tigers will return to Jason Gym on Thursday (Dec. 8) to open MIAA play against Missouri Southern at 7:30 p.m. CST. That will be Parochial Schools and Heroes Night, and all kids, EMT workers, fire fighters, police officers, current and veteran members of the military and all Jefferson City parochial school staff and faculty members will receive free admission.

BOX SCORE

Dan Carr, Assistant AD for Media Relations
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY BLUE TIGERS ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS