Lincoln Land went toe-to-toe with conference leader Rend Lake Wednesday afternoon, but fell off late and dropped the contest 82-65.

The Loggers got a three pointer from Mason Neumann for the first field goal of the day, but the Warriors of Rend Lake then went on a 10-0 run and took an 8-point lead that they held for much of the first half. In the first 10:00 Rend Lake led by as many as 12, but Lincoln Land was able to get back within 5. Just as the Loggers were catching up, Rend Lake responded and pushed the advantage right back out to 13. With just under 5:00 to play, the Warriors again held a 13-point advantage at 36-23. Lincoln Land closed on a 12-3 run, including the last 8 points of the half to find themselves trailing by only 4 at 39-35; the closest the game had been since the score was 7-3 just 3:00 in to the evening. 

Right after the break, Rend Lake again used a fast start to pull back to a 9-point lead. Lincoln Land did not let the Warriors pull away this time. But Rend Lake also continued to answer. LLCC would get within 4 or 5 points again and Rend Lake would push it back to 8+. Lincoln Land used transition fast breaks to put together a quick 8-1 run and found themselves down just 1 at 54-53 with right at 10:00 to play. Rend Lake got fouled on the next possession and that was the beginning of a 10-2 run. From there, LLCC never caught back up. The Warriors ended on a total of a 28-12 run including the last 7 points of the game to balloon their final lead to the final score of 82-65. The total was not fully indicative with how close the game was prior to the closing moments. 

Shooting woes doomed the Loggers who had multiple layups and close shots just roll out. Despite shooting 13 more shots from the field, the Loggers put in one less field goal than Rend Lake. The Warriors forced many of those misses blocking 9 shots, the most the Loggers have had blocked this season. These led to Rend Lake outrebounding LLCC 48-32.

Nate Moore ended with a team and game high 21 points, eclipsing 20 points for the fourth time this year. Keshaun Harlan improved his 20-point scoring streak to four straight games, adding in 20. Harlan also ended with a team high 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals leading the way for the Loggers much of the night.  Jaylen Lockhart wrapped up with 13 points. A season low 7 Loggers were able to score on the evening. 

Lincoln Land stumbles to 7-9 on the season on the season and  fall below .500 at 4-5 in the MWAC and Region 24 play. Lincoln Land comes home for the first time in four games to take on the other top team in the league, Danville Area Community College Saturday afternoon at 3 PM.