It has been a long time since Pittsburg State coach Kim Anderson has won a road game.
The former Missouri coach has been winless on the road since Feb. 26, 2014, when he was still with the Central Missouri Mules during their NCAA Division II championship run.
The Lincoln Blue Tigers made sure Anderson's streak didn't snap Thursday night at Jason Gym, rallying late in the second half for a 75-70 win against the Gorillas.
After dropping their first five MIAA games, the Blue Tigers have won back-to-back conference games to pick up some momentum.
"This group, they're starting to grow as a team," Lincoln coach John Moseley said. "With so many new guys, it didn't happen as quickly as we would have liked, but we've dropped two conference games by four points or less.
"In our last two, we've been fortunate enough to win after being down in the second half."
Pittsburg State played without second-leading scorer Donovan Franklin, who had a lower leg injury, but the Gorillas inserted 6-foot-10 center Deitrich Cole Jr. in his place in the starting lineup.
Facing a significant size disadvantage, Lincoln fired away from 3-point range early. The Blue Tigers were able to make five of their first eight attempts from deep.
"I thought some of our threes early were ill-advised, but they happened to go in," Moseley said with a smile.
Pittsburg State's inside presence helped the Gorillas to an early 10-5 lead, but John Burton, Maurice Mason and Terrance Smith each made a 3-pointer to swing the lead in Lincoln's favor.
Smith knocked down a deep 3 with 3:31 to go in the half to make the score 37-25, Lincoln's biggest lead of the game. It would also be the Blue Tigers' last field goal for the next nine minutes.
Pittsburg State finished the first half on 10-0 run to cut Lincoln's halftime lead to two points. The Gorillas then started the second half on an 11-2 run to take a 46-39 lead.
"To Coach Anderson's credit, he made adjustments in the first half defensively," Moseley said. "We went four possessions in a row that were empty possessions.
"That put us staggering on our feet a little bit to finish the first half."
Moseley said he wrote one word on the locker room board for his players during halftime: Growth.
"After that bad start to the second half, we were able to regain some momentum and grow from it," he said.
Lincoln began working the ball inside, getting back-to-back baskets from Calvin Chambers midway through the second half to cut Pittsburg State's lead to 56-50.
Mason completed an old-fashioned 3-point play to trim the deficit to 56-55 with 9:25 to play.
Burton hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to give Lincoln back the lead at 63-62, but Xavier Adams - who finished with a game-high 24 points - answered by scoring the next three points for the Gorillas.
Lincoln took the lead for good with back-to-back 3s by Mason and Amariontez Ivory with 3:27 to play, making the score 69-65.
"The 3-ball is a great neutralizer when you're able to make some," said Moseley, whose team finished 12-of-28 from 3-point range.
Pittsburg State (9-7, 2-5 MIAA) managed just one field goal the rest of the game.
"We started switching defenses a little bit to try and keep them off-balanced," Moseley said. "They developed a rhythm and were going to Adams almost exclusively on the block, so we had to do something to try and get them away from doing that."
Grant Lozoya missed a 3-point attempt that would have tied the game with :17 to play. After Marquise Williams grabbed the rebound, Mason was fouled with :12.3 left in the game. He made both free throws to ice the win, finishing with 18 points.
Smith scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the first half for the Blue Tigers. Ivory added 14 points and 4-of-7 shooting from 3.
Lincoln (8-8, 2-5 MIAA) hosts Missouri Southern at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, seeking its third straight MIAA win.