Box Score
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. — Facing a challenge in visiting Saint Augustine, Lincoln was unable to provide an answer to the Falcons' well balanced attack resulting in a 99-71 loss. The Lions would repeatedly showed fight. However the energetic Saint Augustine team had an answer for every run.
Lincoln was led by Ladaye Johnson (Wilmington, DE/Hodgson Vo-Tech) (Wilmington, Del./Hodgson Vo-Tech) with 20 points and Damian Hyman (Bronx, NY/Harry S. Truman) (Bronx, N.Y./Harry S. Truman), who has continued to show more confidence as of late with 12 points.
Saint Augustine, coming in with a 13-3 record, showed why they are the number one scoring team in the CIAA.
After hitting a field goal two minutes into the first half, Lincoln (2-15) would not hit another bucket until 10:47 with two foul shots from Darren Clark (Boston, MA/Largo) to make it 18-4. The
Lions would not hit the 10-point mark until the midway point through the period.
A driving lay-up from Johnson quickly followed by a three pointer from Damian Hyman (Bronx, NY/Harry S. Truman) inched the Lions closer at 26-15. But the story of the first half was the Falcon's ability to have an answer for any attempt Lincoln made to snatch the momentum.
The Saint Augustine lead would balloon to twenty after a Brandon Hickson lay in and Chris Jordan three from the left wing. A Jordan two-handed slam as time expired put the exclamation point on a 50-25 first half score.
Along with averaging the most points in the CIAA, the Falcons also boasted the second ranked defensive squad. It showed as a 2-3 zone flustered the Lions offense. Lincoln shot 12 percent from the field in the first period, compared to 54 percent by Saint Augustine. Lincoln's 15-for-18 from the charity stripe kept LU in the game.
Hoping to come out of the locker room with more energy, Lincoln would withstand a 7-2 run by Saint Augustine, cutting the Falcon lead down to 16 after four straight shots nailed from beyond the arc from the senior trio of Johnson, Dante Blanton-Holcombe (Baltimore, MD/Dunbar) (2) and Hyman.
As was the story for the night, the Falcons had a heavy counter-punch. A strong driving baseline lay up from Hickson and a Jordan three made it 65-42. Saint Augustine would go on a run to go up as much as twenty nine points which was punctuated by a Darryl Glass dunk, making it a 80-55 game with 6:53 remaining.
Team leaders for Saint Augustine were Hayward Fain with 17 points and 12 rebounds and Jordan who poured in 14.
After a two game home stand, Lincoln will start a three game road trip starting on Thursday as it plays Virginia State University at 7:30. Lincoln and Cheyney meet Jan. 31 at the Liacouras Center.
— LU —
