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KIRKSVILLE -- Five players reached double-figures, and the Truman men’s basketball team took advantage of 41 free throw attempts and 15 offensive rebounds to outlast Lincoln (Mo.) University, 83-79, on Saturday afternoon in Pershing Arena. Senior Ethan Freeman scored 15 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs with a double-double.

In a game that featured just one instance of a double-digit lead for either team, the Bulldogs (5-9, 3-7 MIAA) drained six second-half three-pointers to counter a pair of 25-plus point outings by Lincoln’s (2-12, 0-10 MIAA) Cedric Ridle Jr. and Marquez Davis.

Truman trailed by five, 17-12, with 12:27 to play in the first half before the team scored five straight to knot the game at 17 apiece. The teams never got more than a single field goal away from each other until a 13-3 run by the ’Dogs that spanned three minutes opened up a 38-28 cushion with 3:18 left in the opening 20 minutes. Junior Vesko Filchev scored ten first-half points, while Freeman nearly reached double-double status with nine points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes.

But the Blue Tigers began to chip away in the second half, leaning on Ridle Jr. (29 total points) and Davis (27 points) to draw even at 63-all with 7:58 to play. A quick rebuttal three-pointer by guard Alex Henderson gave the Bulldogs a lead they would eventually never surrender.

Truman again had to hold off a late flurry by Lincoln, as the visiting Blue Tigers drew within two, 81-79, with 14 seconds to play, but two free throws by guard Tom Norton iced the game away and gave Truman both its fifth total and fifth home win of the 2010-2011 campaign.

Filchev led all Bulldogs with 18 points in just 20 minutes due to foul trouble against the smaller Blue Tigers, with Freeman adding 15, Henderson chipping in 14 and both Norton and Isaac Gardner pouring in 11. The ’Dogs shot 43% (24-for-56) for the game and 8-of-26 from long-range, while totaling a 27-for-41 (65.9%) mark from the free throw line. The 41 attempts were the most by a Bulldog unit in more than 12 years, dating back to a 45-attempt game against Graceland (Iowa) on Nov. 24, 1998.

Freeman earned 18 chances from the stripe, the second-most by a Bulldog in single-game program history.

The senior forward also added to his MIAA lead on the defensive glass, reeling in ten Lincoln misses, while Gardner registered his new career-high with eight (five offensive).

Truman wraps up the first half of conference play next Wednesday (Jan. 19) evening when it travels to the University of Central Missouri for a 7:30 pm tip. UCM entered Saturday evening’s contest at Missouri Western with a 9-6 overall (4-5 MIAA) mark.

(Courtesy Truman State Athletics Department)