CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Lincoln University men's basketball team, winners of the the Northern Division for the first time in school history, will begin CIAA Tournament play in the quartefinals on Thursday night against Bowie State.

Bowie State, which has won four straight and comes into the contest with a 13-13 record, advanced to the CIAA quarterfinals with a 78-56 win over Chowan on Wednesday night at the Time Warner Cable Arena to set up the matchup between the two CIAA Northern Division schools.

The Lions (17-9), winners of five straight, have faced off against CIAA Northern Division foes Bowie State/Chowan twice this season.

In its first meeting, Lincoln held off a late charge to defeat Bowie State, 66-64, in overtime on Jan. 19 in Bowie, Md. In that contest, Derrick Washington (Washington, DC/Coolidge SHS) had 21 points, while Kenny Sharpe (Chester, Pa./Elite Academy) finished with 20 and George Jackson (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor HS) chipped in with 10 and Will Cole (Newark, NJ/Cesar Chavez HS) cleaned up on the glass with 12 rebounds. The Lions swept the season series against the Bulldogs with a 60-59 overtime thriller at home as Washington completed a three-point play with less than four seconds left to earn the victory. Washington, who found the hot hand in the second half, finished with 19 points and Cole added 12.

Tip-off for the CIAA quarterfinal contest is scheduled for 9 p.m. To follow the contest through Live Stats and Live Twitter updates, click here. To follow through Live Streaming, click here.