The Lincoln Cardinals led a stubborn Smithton squad 35-34 going into the fourth and final frame but were outscored 17-4 in the last period suffering a 51-43 sobering defeat at home.
The visiting Tigers jumped out early for a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Smithton held their ground in the second and led 25-22 at the half.
Turnovers and fouls befell Lincoln in the final quarter.
The January 5, Friday night loss dropped Lincoln to 3-9 overall on the season and, similar to the football season, Lincoln's heralded sophomore class has been plagued with injuries.
Cardinals head coach Tyler Burke commented, "We didn't play well enough to win. We need to get better defensively and we are not shooting well. We have good kids. We are close, but we are not there just yet."
Riley Sanders paced the Lincoln offense with 14 points. Xavier Smith also hit double digits with 11 points.
Brock Huffman led the Tigers with 16 points.
Smithton moved to 7-6 on the season.
LINCOLN (43): Everhart, 4; Cole, 2; Sanders, 14; Smith, 11; Benham, 6; Eckhoff, 4.
SMITHTON (51): Pyle, 4; Grose, 3; Pond, 8; Williams, 4; Bray, 8; Huffman, 16; Welch, 3; Sims, 5.
