OXFORD, Pa. - For the second straight week, the Lincoln University Blue Tigers saw a halftime lead disappear.
The Blue Tigers - who led by 17 points in the second quarter - were dominant on both sides of the ball in the first half, but they gave up 26 second-half points, losing 33-23 to the Lincoln (Pa.) Lions on Saturday afternoon at LU Stadium.
The Blue Tigers scored the first 17 points of the game, starting with a 31-yard field goal by Alex Templeton on their opening drive.
In the second quarter, Will Randolph hit paydirt with a 1-yard touchdown run for the Blue Tigers and Chris Othelot caught a 25-yard pass from Andrew McIntyre for another score. That gave the Blue Tigers a 17-0 lead with 6:16 to play in the first half.
The Lions scored their first of four receiving touchdowns with just more than three minutes to play in the first half. Andre Price caught a 23-yard pass from Justin White, cutting the Blue Tigers' lead to 17-7 at halftime.
After a 12-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Wilson cut the led to four points, the Blue Tigers answered immediately with a 66-yard run by Randolph, pushing the lead to 23-13. Both teams missed their PATs following those scores.
The Lions added a 9-yard run by Olateju Ishola to cut the Blue Tiger lead to 23-20 late in the third quarter. Lincoln (Pa.) (1-1) took the lead on a 23-yard pass to Price with 12:22 to play in the game and then got a 76-yard touchdown reception from Elijah Smith to pad its lead with about five minutes to play.
The Blue Tigers were forced to punt or committed a turnover on downs in five straight possessions in the second half.
Randolph led Lincoln (Mo.) with 15 carries for 131 yards and a pair of scores. McIntyre, making his first start at quarterback for the Blue Tigers, completed 20-of-33 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown. He completed passes to 11 different players, with Bryson Winfrey leading the way with five catches for 44 yards.
The Blue Tigers narrowly outgained the Lions on offense 353-348. Each team had 123 rushing yards.
Jeff Jones led the Blue Tiger defense with seven tackles, including three for loss. Marvin Holley grabbed an interception on the Lions' first offensive possession.
Lincoln (Mo.) (0-2) will host Quincy at 2 p.m. Saturday at Dwight T. Reed Stadium to open the Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule.