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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - - A career-high 26 points for sophomore guard Seth Jackson coupled with a blistering second half team offensive attack helped the Truman men’s basketball team overcome an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat Lincoln 81-74 on Saturday afternoon and earn an MIAA tournament bid.
The Bulldogs made 15-of-23 (65%) shots in the second half and forced the Blue Tiger offense into a 1-for-18 performance from long distance to land a spot in the MIAA tournament for the first time since the 2006-07 season. Jackson (St. Louis, Mo., CBC) scored 15 of his 26 in the final 20 minutes, while Mike Carlson (Superior, Wis., Marshall) added 10 of his 16 total points in the second half to help fuel the Bulldog attack.
Lincoln came out blazing in the opening 20 minutes, as MIAA scoring leader Cedric Ridle dropped 22 first half points to give the Blue Tigers a 47-36 lead at the intermission. However, the Bulldogs got the deficit to just three with a quick 10-2 burst out of the locker room with 17:06 to play.
After the Tigers rebuilt an eight-point cushion, Truman again chipped away, baffling Lincoln with a zone defense and scoring 15 of the next 22 points to take a 63-62 lead on a Carlson lay-up at the 5:43 mark.
Ridle would score on the next possession, but that would be the last LU lead of the day, as an Isaac Gardner (Washington, Iowa, Washington) three-ball put Truman up 66-64. Two possessions later with the score the same, Jackson dunked over Ridle, earning an old-fashioned three-point play that pushed the lead to five, where it would remain at minimum for the rest of the game.
Jackson’s 26 points came in just 20 minutes, as the sophomore was saddled with early foul trouble, while Carlson faced a similar dilemma, scoring 16 points in 19 minutes. Gardner finished with 18 points off the bench, and Tom Norton (Bloomington, Ill., Central Catholic) scored eight – all from the charity stripe – as Truman converted 23-of-29 free throws (79%) for the game.
The Bulldogs return to action on Wednesday night at Central Missouri, tipping off at 7:30 pm in Warrensburg.
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