PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Three LU seniors were honored Monday night by the Philadelphia-Area Small College Basketball Association hosted by the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.
Men's basketball players Damian Hyman (Bronx, NY, Harry S. Truman) and Ladaye Johnson (Wilmington, DE, Hodgson Vo-Tech) and women's point guard Chanelle Harris (Philadelphia, PA, Penn Wood) were LU's recipents of the Sam Cozen Senior Appreciation Award.
The banquet featured award-winners from Division II and III colleges from the Philadelphia area. Players were chosen by their head coaches.
Harris — LU's all-time assist leader with 404 — was joined by her godmoster, sister and brother.
Harris is a four-year starter for Lincoln and smashed the school record for assists. From Philadelphia's Penn Wood High School, she has two career 20-point games, the first against Penn State Brandywine in the 2007-08 season and the next year had a 21-point night against Fayetteville State. In this year's win over Cheyney, she iced the game with a breakaway lay-up.
This was the first year the Coaches' Association honored women's players, and as the lone senior on this year's roster, she was thrilled to be the first recipient of the honor. She added that it was nice to get reacquainted with old friends off the hardwood.
“It was nice. It felt good to be recognized as a female student-athlete,” she said. “I grew up playing a lot of them in high school and AAU basketball. It was nice to see everybody when it's not so competitive.”
Hyman came to Lincoln by way of Alfred State. The Bronx native had a 1,000-point career before entering LU in 2008-09 as a junior. In his first year at Lincoln, he averaged 14 points, and after a slow start this year, he heated up. He had a career-high 29 points versus Virginia Union.
“It was something to add on my résumé,” Hyman said. “All the hard work at Lincoln paid off at the end. The fact that they're recognizing people from smaller collection, it's nice that they honored all our hard work.”
Johnson, too, enjoyed success in orange and blue. In three seasons with Lincoln, he has scored more than 600 points. He had 27 points in a game earlier this year behind a career-high tying five 3-pointers. Against Saint Paul's in 2008, he had a 32-point night.
