A 16-4 run encompassing six minutes helped the Truman men’s basketball team turn a three-point edge into a 15-point gap midway through the second half, helping hand Lincoln (Mo.) an 84-64 defeat on Thursday night in Pershing Arena.
After going to the intermission tied at 32, the two teams battled to a 53-50 Bulldog lead with 11:17 to play in regulation.
From there, however, it was all Truman, as the Bulldogs rattled off 16 of 20 points in six minutes and eventually 28 of 39 combined points to build an 81-61 lead with 1:49 to play.
Truman (5-6, 2-1 MIAA) had just four players score in the first 20 minutes, with junior Mike Carlson senior Tom Norton and freshman Jaylon Jones pouring in nine apiece, but had eight players find the point column in the second half to help contribute to the rout.
Sophomore Seth Jackson was perfect from the floor (4-4 FG, 7-7 FT) in the second half, while Jones tacked on another 10 for a career- and team-high 19 points (5-9 FG, 9-10 FT) on the night.
In all, the Bulldogs had five players in double-figures, with Norton (17), Jackson (15), Carlson (13) and freshman Cole Myers (12) joining Jones, with Carlson finishing with a game-high seven rebounds.
Freshman Cory Myers finished with six assists, while Cole Myers adding five and five steals.
Truman shot 55% (26-47) from the floor overall, including 7-12 from three-point range.
In addition, the ’Dogs converted 25-of-28 free throw attempts to finish at an 89.3% clip.
With the win, the Bulldogs start 2-1 in MIAA play for the second consecutive season under head coach Matt Woodley.
Cedric Ridle scored 21 to lead the Blue Tigers (2-11, 1-2 MIAA), while Charles Cole added 17.
Truman returns to action with a quick turnaround on Saturday afternoon, visiting MIAA-newcomer Lindenwood (Mo.) at 3:00 pm in St. Charles.
Courtesy Truman State University
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