The referees nearly wore out their whistles Saturday at Jason Gym.
A total of 60 fouls were called between the Lincoln Blue Tigers and Southwest Baptist Bearcats, which led to 82 free throws. Lincoln may not have won the free-throw contest, but it won the game 85-73, despite having three players foul out.
There was no time for either team to find a rhythm, especially in the second half, when it seemed as if every possession ended with a stoppage in play.
"Tempo is everything for us," Lincoln coach John Moseley said. "We want to get the game going up and down. It was tough to get any type of flow.
"It was a gutsy, gutsy win for us."
Lincoln never trailed in the game and charged out early, leading 25-8 with 7:47 to play in the first half.
It was Lincoln's only chance to establish tempo in the game, shooting just two free throws in the opening 13 minutes. The Blue Tigers also attacked the basket often, making just one 3-pointer during that opening stretch.
Southwest Baptist missed its first 10 shots from the field and started the game 1-of-17 shooting. As a result of shots not falling, the Bearcats did what they could to get to the free-throw line.
And they did that often.
"Because of the flow of the game, the energy level dropped," Moseley said. "Guys just weren't staying in tune to where the ball was."
Southwest Baptist scored a basket and drew a foul three times during a 2:19 stretch late in the first half. It helped close the gap to 33-21.
By the end of the game, the Bearcats compiled seven different opportunities where they stepped to the free-throw line with a chance to complete an old-fashioned 3-point play seven times.
"That's when you don't even earn your money on the foul," Moseley said. "If you're going to foul them, foul them. Make sure they don't get the ball to the rim.
"That's a frustrating statistic."
Lincoln would soon return the favor, shooting 10 free throws in the final 3:22 of the half. The Blue Tigers made nine of those attempts, which helped stretch the lead to 45-27 at halftime.
Lincoln committed fouls early and often in the second half. By the 10:51 mark, Southwest Baptist was in the double bonus.
The Bearcats kept going to the free-throw line, where they scored 22 of their first 35 points. By the end of the game, they shot 33-of-46.
"That's what they do, and they've done it time and time again," Moseley said of Southwest Baptist, which leads the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association with 405 free-throw attempts this season. "Maybe not to this extent, but they've been successful getting downhill driving the basketball."
Anthony Virdure finished with a career-high 41 points Saturday, scoring 16 of the Blue Tigers' last 20 points. He also frequently visited the free-throw line, going 16-of-19 at the charity stripe.
Virdure energized the crowd with a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:13 to play, extending Lincoln's lead to 82-67.
"Anthony has been tremendous," Moseley said. "He's not afraid of the moment and he doesn't mind the pressure."
The Blue Tigers weren't far behind the Bearcats in the free-throw department, shooting 27-of-36 for the game.
Lincoln finished the game with three starters on the floor. Taccourus Mattox fouled out with 11:23 to play, while Jaylon Smith picked up his fifth foul with 3:11 left, finishing with 13 points. O'Shai Clark also fouled out for Lincoln in the final few minutes.
Kalehl Brown also had five fouls for Southwest Baptist, and a total of four players between the two teams finished the game with four fouls.
Logan Hovey led Southwest Baptist (10-8, 3-6 MIAA) with 21 points and seven rebounds.
Richie Lewis added nine points and nine rebounds for Lincoln (13-6, 6-4 MIAA), which plays Thursday at Fort Hays State. The Blue Tigers are 8-2 in games away from home.
GAME VIDEO
Highlights: Lincoln Men's Basketball vs. Southwest Baptist (1-21-17)