LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. – With a scrappy effort and three players scoring in double figures, the Lincoln University men's basketball team rallied from as many as 14 points in the first half to down Goldey-Beacom College, 84-78, on Tuesday night at Manuel Rivero Hall.
 
“I told the team at halftime that we just have to get some stops,” Lincoln head coach John Hill said. “We had to lock down defensively. They (Goldey-Beacom) made some easy baskets in the first half and our kids needed to settle down and make them make plays. We were very scrappy tonight and did a good job rebounding. We got in some foul trouble in the second half. Overall, it was a great win for our kids, especially on our home court.”
 
Denzel Mooney (Baltimore, Md./Western School of Technology) scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the first half and was 10-of-13 from the free-throw line, while going 7-of-15 from the floor. He also pulled down six rebounds. George Jackson (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor HS) added 16 of his 24 points in the second half, including going 10-of-11 from the charity stripe and Kenny Sharpe (Chester, Pa./Elite Academy) scored 11 points as the Lions (2-3), winners of their last two games, were 27-of-65 shooting from the floor for 42 percent and 26-of-32 from the foul line for 81 percent.
 
The Lightning (1-2) led 36-22 after a jumper by Ido Yehuda with 4:58 remaining in the first half. But Lincoln answered and slowly chipped away at the deficit by out-scoring Goldey-Beacom, 14-6, during the final four and a half minutes to close the gap to 42-36 at the break.
 
The Lions opened the second half on an 11-2 run, capped by a George Jackson (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor HS) 3-pointer to give Lincoln a 47-44 lead.
 
Goldey-Beacom kept the game close, tying the game at 59 with 9:07 left, but Lincoln ended the game on a 25-18 run, including going 14-of-14 at the free-throw line in the final five minutes to seal the victory.
 
A.J. Picard couldn't miss early for the Lightning as he finished with 23 points, including scoring 21 of Goldey-Beacom's first 23 points of the game. Marcus Porter chipped in with 20 points and nine boards, while Tariq Uqdah had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double. The Lightning were 27-of-61 shooting for 44 percent.
 
Lincoln will be in action over the Thanksgiving break at the Fresh Coast Classic in Milwaukee, Wis. The Lions open play 2 p.m. (Central Time/3 p.m. Eastern Time), Friday, Nov. 25 against Fisk University and will play either in the 2 p.m./4 p.m. game on Saturday, Nov. 26 against either Cheyney or Bowie State in the consolation/championship game at Wisconsin Lutheran College. The games can be viewed through live stats at: http://www.sidearmstats.com/bowie/mbball/index.htm or can be seen through video streaming at: http://www.ihigh.com/freshcoastclassic/index.html.