LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. (January 24, 2011) –  Eugene Smith (West Palm Beach, Fl/PennWood )'s first career 20-point night came in a monumental night for the Lincoln University men's basketball team.

Powered by the big-man's 24 points, the Lions (2-13, 1-7 CIAA, 1-1 North) defeated Chowan University, 75-62, Monday night at Manuel Rivero Hall.

The senior forward from West Palm Beach, Fla., also secured six rebounds, enabling Lincoln (2-13, 1-7 CIAA,  1-1 North) to secure its first Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) of the season. The 78 points Lincoln scored was a season high.

They did so by breaking a 30-30 deadlock at the intermission with an impressive display of ball distribution and selflessness as well as an inside post game led by Smith. LU out-rebounded Chowan, 34-32, including by a 22-14 margin in the first half.

Smith (24 points), Denzel Mooney (Baltimore, Md./Western School of Technology) (17) and Jones (14) were all in double figures while William Kearse (Philadelphia, PA/Benjamin Franklin) offered a career-high nine points.

Ten of Jones' points came from the free-throw line, which was where this game was decided. Chowan (1-15, 0-8 CIAA, 0-2 North) was a meager 13-of-23 while Lincoln was an impressive 31-for-40 including 23-of-27 in the second period. Both teams each had 11 field goals.

With the Lions and Hawks knotted at 34-34, Lincoln went on a 12-2 run for a 46-36 game with 14:22. The lead reached 10 when Kearse stole a pass and found a streaking Jones on the fast break for an easy, breakaway bucket. Chowan responded with the game's lone three, but it mattered little.

Smith nailed a jumper from the charity stripe grew the margin to 14 with 10:40 to go. CU challenged for a stretch, trailing by just eight following turnaround lay-in by Quinton McDuffie as the clock neared eight minutes left, leaving the score at 58-50.

Unlike previous contests where the Lions allowed teams to get close, they demonstrated the ability to put a conference team away, defeating a CIAA team for the first time in nine tries with the last victory coming against Saint Paul's College on February 18, 2010.

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