KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - In Pershing Arena's first overtime game since February of 2016, the Truman State University men's basketball team trailed Lincoln by one, 85-84, with the length of the court to go and 4.5 seconds left on the clock. Taurin Hughes (pictured) inbounded the ball to Turner Scott who took the ball coast to coast, attacked No. 2, Terrance Smith, on the right side of the basket and had his game-winning layup attempt denied as time expired.

Truman (3-3) has now lost three in a row while Lincoln (4-3) snapped a two-game skid with the overtime victory. Tuesday, five Bulldogs reached double-figures in scoring including Jake Velky (20), Nathan Messer (18), Zach Fischer (16), Hughes (13), and Jack Green (10). Fischer notched his fifth career double-double and fourth in six games with 14 rebounds while Velky and Messer led the team in assists with three apiece.

In the team head-to-head, Lincoln out-rebounded Truman by five, 45-40, including 24-17 in the second half. Neither team shot particularly well as the Bulldogs went 26-of-63 from the field (41.3 percent) and the Blue Tigers answered that by going 32-for-74 (43.2 percent). The visitors dominated the home team in points in the paint to the tune of 38-24, including 6-0 in overtime, and the Purple and White made just one of their 10 three-point attempts in the second half.

Out of the gate, there were three ties and five lead changes through the first five minutes and change before Truman started to get things rolling. Leading Lincoln by four, 26-22, with just under eight minutes until halftime, the Bulldogs went on a 12-2 run over a period of 2:51 to take their biggest lead of the night at 14, 38-24. During that stretch, all of the Purple and White's points came from behind the arc including six from Green, Velky with three and three by Messer. However, the Blue Tigers ended the period with an 8-2 spurt of their own and the margin was eight, 40-32, heading into the locker room.

Out of the intermission, Truman pushed its lead back to 13, 46-33, with six of the first seven points, but with plenty of game left to be played. Lincoln battled to within four three times (52-48, 54-50 and 56-52) before the Bulldogs rattled off six points in a row to get the advantage back to double-digits, 62-52, with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. From there until the the end of the second half, the Blue Tigers outscored the Bulldogs by 10, 19-9, and tied things up with a four-point play from No. 5, John Burton that sent it to overtime.

Lincoln began the extra period with the first five points, but Truman punched back with seven of the next nine points to knot it up at 78-78 and just over a minute to go. No. 11, Calvin Chambers made a layup at the 48-second mark, but Velky answered with a triple. With just 21 ticks left, Smith converted a jumper to put Lincoln up by one, 82-81, but a Hughes' trey from the left corner gave the Bulldogs a two-point advantage, 84-82, with 11 seconds remaining. No. 23, Amariontez's three-pointer (game-high 27 points) from the right wing was the nail in the coffin, though, before Scott came up begging.

Next up, Truman turns its attention to the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener and Missouri-St. Louis on Saturday with tip inside Pershing set for 3 p.m. following the women.

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