LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, PA. (January 26, 2009) – The Lincoln University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team defeated Johnson C. Smith University, 69-67, before a capacity crowd Monday night at Manuel Rivero Hall in a memory-maker. (BOXSCORE)
In defeating JCSU for the first time in school history, Lincoln (6-12 overall) concluded a successful 3-1 home stand with its most impressive victory this season. The Lions and their fans held their breath as JCSU's Ronald Thornhill's attempted game-tying shot fell short.
Senior Jabyron Wilson scored 13 points and grabbed a career-high 17 points to lead Lincoln to the victory over the reigning CIAA tournament champions. Johnson C. Smith, making its first visit to Rivero Hall, dropped to 13-5 overall.
Also reaching double digits for Lincoln was Bryant Leach (Philadelphia, PA/John Bartram), who finished with 13 points, five assists and three steals in 38 electrifying minutes. Darren Clark (Boston, MA/Largo) scored 10 points and added five assists for the Lions, who made at least 49 percent of their shots for the third straight game (24-for-49, 49.0%).
Lincoln's defense slowed the CIAA's highest scoring duo of James Dillard, the second leading scorer in the conference at 20.0 points per game, and Ryan Scott, the third leading scorer at 16.9. They combined for 21 points, 15 below what they average during the season. Scott finished with 13 points and Dillard scored eight points on eight shots. Jerry Hollis finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Thornhill scored a game-high 18 points for JCSU, which fell to 4-4 in the month of January.
After watching halftime leads evaporate in a pair of home losses to Livingstone and Saint Augustine's, Lincoln made sure its 32-29 advantage would hold up. It wasn't easy as the Lions had to withstand several JCSU charges. The Golden Bulls took their first lead of the contest, 40-39, with 14 minutes, 1 second remaining following a Thornhill 3-pointer.
Lincoln's Denzel Mooney (Baltimore, Md./Western School of Technology) quickly answered with a 3-pointer on the Lions' next possession to give Lincoln the lead again, 42-40, and set up the frantic, final minutes. The Golden Bulls took a 45-44 lead with 11:53 remaining on a Ryan Scott 3-pointer. JCSU held the lead for the next six minutes before Wilson's layup gave the Lions the lead for good, 56-55, with 5:34 left.
Lincoln would never trail again although the game was tied at 58-58 after Thornhill split a pair of foul shots with 3:58 remaining. Leach gave Lincoln the lead for good when he drained a 3-pointer with 3:28 left. A JCSU turnover and a Clark layup gave Lincoln a 63-58 edge and sent the packed house into a frenzy.
The Golden Bulls sliced Lincoln's late 67-61 advantage to 68-67 with 11 seconds remaining. However, Damian Hyman (Bronx, NY/Harry S. Truman) split a pair of foul shots.
For the fourth consecutive game, Lincoln enjoyed a strong first half. The Lions roared to a 13-2 lead less than five minutes into the game. Ladaye Johnson (Wilmington, DE/Hodgson Vo-Tech) scored five of eight points in the early moments.
A big difference in the game was foul shooting, Lincoln was 14-for-30 from the foul line and JCSU was 7-for-10. Thanks to efforts of Mooney, Darrell Mosley (Chester, PA/Chester ) and Eugene Smith (West Palm Beach, Fl/PennWood ), Lincoln outscored JCSU's bench, 20-9. Mooney scored eight points while Smith and Mosley contributed six points each.
The two teams will meet in Charlotte on Saturday February 21.
Lincoln's next game is at Virginia State Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. Lincoln defeated VSU, 67-53 two weeks ago. Johnson C. Smith returns to action Thursday night when it hosts Saint Paul's College at Brayboy Gym.
--LU--
