It took longer than they had hoped, but Lincoln Trail College’s men’s basketball team finally picked up its first win of 2023 Saturday.

The Statesmen snapped a six-game losing streak, as they jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 71-62 win over visiting Rend Lake College in Great Rivers Athletic Conference action.

Lincoln Trail used a strong first half to build a 37-23 lead at halftime, then the Statesmen were outscored 39-34 in the second half, but were still able to hold on for the win.

Greg Jenkins led LTC with 26 points, three steals, two rebounds and one assist, while Clint Wickliffe posted 12 points, 11 rebounds and two assists. Chris Felix contributed 10 points and six assists, Jesse Laster totaled nine points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal, Molik Reese collected seven points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal and Caden Huttenlocker recorded seven points, three rebounds, two blocked shots and one assist.

Brennan Lovette led Rend Lake with 15 points and one rebound, while Cawhan Smith totaled 14 points, eight assists, five steals and four rebounds and Blake McKay recorded 10 points, two assists, one rebound and one steal.

Lincoln Trail (12-9, 5-4 GRAC, 4-5 Region 24) is scheduled to play at Southwestern Illinois College for a GRAC and Region 24 contest Wednesday at 7 p.m.

At LTC Sports Center, Robinson

Rend Lake College 23 39 - 62

Lincoln Trail College 37 34 - 71

REND LAKE (62)

Blake McKay 3-6 0-3 4-4 10, Cawhan Smith 7-13 0-0 0-2 14, Carson Prost 2-7 0-3 4-4 8, Jackson Creel 1-3 1-6 1-2 6, Joe Melton 2-3 0-1 0-0 4, Mason Ribble 1-1 0-0 0-0 2, Reece Johnson 0-0 1-1 0-0 3, Brennan Lovette 3-5 3-6 0-0 15, TOTALS 19-38 2FG, 5-20 3FG, 9-12 FT, 62 TP.

LINCOLN TRAIL (71)

Greg Jenkins 8-12 2-3 4-4 26, Clint Wickliffe 3-4 2-8 0-0 12, Jesse Laster 4-7 0-0 1-1 9, Chris Felix 4-7 0-2 2-2 10, Caden Huttenlocker 2-4 1-2 0-0 7, Molik Reese 3-3 0-0 1-2 7, BJ Smith 0-0 0-1 0-0 0, Antron Williams 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, TOTALS 24-37 2FG, 5-16 3FG, 8-9 FT, 71 TP.

Turnovers - RLC 10, LTC 17. Team fouls - RLC 11, LTC 10. Fouled out - none. Technical foul - Huttenlocker. Rebounds - (RLC 18) Prost 7, Smith 4, Melton 3. (LTC 33) Wickliffe 11, Felix 6, Laster 5, Huttenlocker 3, Reese 3, Williams 3, Jenkins 2. Steals - (RLC 10) Smith 5, Creel 3, McKay, Prost. (LTC 6) Jenkins 3, Laster, Reese, Williams. Assists - (RLC 11) Smith 8, McKay 2, Johnson. (LTC 8) Wickliffe 2, Laster 2, Reese 2, Jenkins, Huttenlocker. Blocked shots - (RLC 1) Melton. (LTC 2) Huttenlocker 2.