RALEIGH, N.C. – Senior Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional HS) notched his second double- double of the season with 14 points and ten rebounds, as the Lions defeated Shaw University 69-62 on Monday, January 12^th at C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium.

Shaw struggled against the roaring Lions at home in the two teams final CIAA cross divisional matchup. Lincoln's defense held the Bears to 8-of-27 (29 percent) shots from the field and into ten early turnovers. The Lions offense was paced by seniors Daniel Pendleton (Philadephia, PA/MCSCS)'s nine points, Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS)'s eight points, and Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional HS)'s seven points. The solid start came from 14-of-27 (51 percent) made shots from the field and 8-of-12 (66 percent) free-throws. Shaw fell behind by double digits around the 8-minute mark and eventually trailed 39-25 at the half.

The Lions kept the pressure on the Bears after freshman Jordan Watson (Philadelphia, PA/Springside Chestnut Hill Academy)'s three-pointer opened their second half scoring. Watson made a layup and Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional HS) followed with another shot from downtown as the Lions extended their advantage to 49-35 by the 16:13 mark. Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) added seven second half points and his layup at the 8:32 mark gave the Lions their largest lead of the game (57-39).

A late charge by the Bears cut the LU lead to single digits with 3:36 remaining in the game. Down the stretch Lincoln converted on several free-throws to remain ahead. Freshman Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS), senior Alonzo Murphy (Pittsburgh, PA/California University (PA)), and Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) all made crucial shots from the charity stripe as Lincoln held on for a 69-62 road victory over Shaw.

Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional HS) scored 14 points while tying a career-best for the third time with ten rebounds and had a career-high four blocked shots. Efese was 6-of-14 from the field and recorded eight defensive rebounds. Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) had a team-high 15 points including 6-of-7 made free-throws. Daniel Pendleton (Philadephia, PA/MCSCS) had a career-high nine points, Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) scored eight points with a career-high four assists, and junior Chaz Sharp (Baltimore, MD/Xavier University of Louisiana) scored eight points and had five rebounds.

Lincoln moves to 5-1 in CIAA play and 11-5 overall while Shaw drops to 4-2 in CIAA play and 9-7 overall record. The Lions open up CIAA Northern Divisional play against Bowie State University in a televised game on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 4 p.m. at A.C. Jordan in Bowie, MD.