LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. – Behind a hot-shooting second half and a stifling defense, the Lincoln University men's basketball team rolled past Bloomsburg University on Wednesday night, 81-67, at Manuel Rivero Gymnasium.
 
“I knew that they were really good,” Lincoln head coach John Hill said. “Their style is very different than what we have seen up to this point. They shoot almost 30 threes a game, but tonight had 24. Our defensive focus was to cover the corners, which is something they focus on in their offensive schme.”
 
It was a balanced offense for the Lions as Lincoln (4-1) had four players reach double figures in scoring. George Jackson (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor HS) paced the Lions with 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting and was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. The junior guard dished out four assists, pulled down three rebounds and had three steals.
 
“It's been fun this year,” George Jackson (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor HS) said. “We are well-coached and it starts with defense. We are very deep at the guard position and our bench depth is great. The second unit is just as good as the starters, so that's a huge help in winning games. Our objective is to get out and run. So forcing all these turnovers played right into our hands.”
 
Kenny Sharpe (Chester, Pa./Elite Academy) poured in 13 points, four steals, three boards and three assists. Beloved Rogers (Baltimore, Md./Princeton Day Academy) and Derrick Washington (Washington, DC/Coolidge SHS) each had 12 points as the Lions were 29-of-59 shooting for 49 percent and were 17-of-28 in the second half for 61 percent.
 
After the two teams traded baskets for first 11 minutes, Lincoln used a 15-1 run during the next six minutes to grab a 30-15 advantage after a Rogers 3-pointer with 3:17 remaining in the opening half.
 
Bloomsburg (2-2), which had 20 turnovers, trimmed the deficit after a Lorenzo Christmas 3-pointer with 24 seconds left as the Lions took a 31-22 advantage into the half.
 
Lincoln opened the second half on a 19-6 run, capped by a Richard Glover (Baltimore, Md./Havre De Grace HS) layup with 13:42 reamaing, to give Lincoln its largest lead of the night, 50-28.
 
The Huskies chipped away at the deficit and cut the Lions advantage to 75-63 after a pair of free throws by Charles Haigler with 1:12 left, but it wasn't enough to catch the hot-shooting Lions.
 
Christmas paced Bloomsburg with 17 points and five rebounds, while Haigler added 16 points and six boards. Wes Lyons and Dontahe Jordan each had 14 points as the Huskies were 19-of-45 (42 percent) from the field.
 
The next three games are on the road for the Lions, starting Monday, Dec. 3 in Misenheimer, N.C., against Pfeiffer University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. To view the game through live stats, click here or for video click here.
 
Lions Notebook: With the win, John Hill picked up coaching career victory No. 102…The Lions were 17-of-26 from the free-throw line…The Lions finished the game with 15 steals and 14 assists…Lincoln out-scored Bloomsburg in points in the paint, 38-18, fast break points, 16-4, and points off turnovers, 28-7…The bench also contributed in the victory as Lincoln had 23 bench points to just five for Bloomsburg…Will Cole (Newark, NJ/Cesar Chavez HS) led the Lions on the glass with seven rebounds...Lincoln is off to its best start since the 1994-1995 season when it opened the year at 5-1…The game between Lincoln and Bloomsburg marked the first time the two teams have met since 1987.