Box Score LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. – The Lincoln University men's basketball team recovered from its heartbreaking loss just two days ago and gave Virginia Union its first CIAA Northern Division loss as the Lions knocked off the Panthers, 86-81 in overtime, on Monday night at Manuel Rivero Hall.
 
“I am happy to get the win,” Lincoln head coach John Hill said. “We are a fragile team and to go into overtime for the second night in a row, I just didn't know if we were going to be able to bounce back. I'm glad the basketball Gods really shined on us and allowed us to make a few plays and we were able to win tonight.”
 
Denzel Mooney (Baltimore, Md./Western School of Technology) did most of his damage at the free-throw line as he poured in a season-high 28 points, 16 of them coming at the charity stripe to lead Lincoln (9-12 overall, 4-6 CIAA, 2-2 CIAA Northern Division). Kenny Sharpe (Chester, Pa./Elite Academy) added 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Derrick Washington (Washington, DC/Coolidge SHS) chipped in with 13 points as the Lions shot 48 percent (25-of-52) from the floor.
 
“It was a big win for us,” Mooney, who also finished with seven rebounds, said. “We are battling Union and Elizabeth City State for the top three spots in the conference. With the win at home, we at least can get a split between us and the Panthers and hopefully get a bye at the conference tournament.”
 
The Lions broke open a 24-all contest by out-scoring the Panthers, 15-8, during the final six minutes of the first half to take a 39-32 lead into the break.
 
In the second half, Lincoln took a 57-42 advantage after a pair of free throws by Sharpe, but the Panthers refused to go away and cut the margin 64-62 after an Aaron Smith 3-pointer with 3:34 remaining.
 
Virginia Union forced overtime as Calvin Brown scored on a layup with 1:26 left and Cordero Holt scored on a putback with 28 seconds remaining to tie the contest at 70. The Lions had a shot to close the game out in regulation, but Mooney missed a jumper to send the game into the extra period.
 
In overtime, the Lions used a 10-3 run, capped by a pair of Mooney free throws to give Lincoln an 80-73 advantage with 1:06 left. Virginia Union cut the deficit to 84-81 with six seconds remaining, but couldn't get any closer.
 
Cordero led the Panthers with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Smith and Damion Harris had 14 and 11 points, respectively. Calvin Brown had 10 points as Virginia Union was 32-of-72 from the field for 43 percent.
 
Lincoln returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 2 at Manuel Rivero Hall against Virginia State University in a CIAA Northern Division tilt. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Catch all the action through live stats at: http://www.sidearmstats.com/lincoln/mbball/index.htm.