LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. – The Lions (1-4) suffered a close loss in their home opener to the Huskies of Bloomsburg (4-2) 74-68 on Saturday, November 28^th in Manuel Rivero Hall. Lincoln's bench carried the way outscoring Bloomsburg's bench 40-21 led by sophomore guards Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) and Jordan Watson (Philadelphia, PA/Springside Chestnut Hill Academy). Burton finished with a team-high 18 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Watson scored a season-high 17 points with four assists and made three from behind the arc. Junior forward Vernon Young (Chicago, IL/University of St. Mary) was the other Lions to reach double figure scoring with ten points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The 2015-16 men's basketball team at Lincoln University opened up at home against the Huskies of Bloomsburg. The Lions shot 41% from the field, 57% from the free throw line, and forced 22 Bloomsburg turnovers. Lincoln trailed for the entire second half but kept the game close and pulled within two points with one minute left in regulation. Lincoln went into the half trailing Bloomsburg 34-32. The Huskies held a 12 point advantage midway through the period, but the Lions battled back to cut it to single digits. Bloomsburg got off to a quick start thanks to 16 points off of 15 LU turnovers. Both teams shot the ball well in the first half with the huskies holding a 46% advantage to Lincoln's 44%. Lincoln's bench outscored Bloomsburg's bench 19-7 early on carried by Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS). Burton had eight first half points on 3-of-4 made shots from the field. Jordan Watson (Philadelphia, PA/Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) added six points on two made three pointers and with three assists.  

Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) and Jordan Watson (Philadelphia, PA/Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) continued to shine in the second half combining for 21 points and making the Lions only three pointers of the period. The game came down to the charity stripe between the Lions and Huskies. Bloomsburg made 18-of-27 (67%) free throws while Lincoln went 8-for-15 (53%) from the line. Lincoln also was outrebounded 24-17 and could never overtake Bloomsburg.

The Lions trailed by ten (61-51) with ten minutes left to play, but used a quick 7-1 run to get the deficit down to four (62-58) with 4:50 on the clock. Burton and Watson anchored that LU run with back-to-back layups and a three pointer by Burton. Bloomsburg responded by going 8-for-12 from the free throw line to remain ahead of the Lions down the stretch. Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) made two free throws of his own with 1:14 left to play as the Lions trailed by two (70-68). The Huskies went on to sink their free throws as the Lions failed on three attempts from the field in the final minute and suffered their second loss in a row, 74-68 to Bloomsburg.

Three Lions reached double figure scoring led by Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS)'s 18 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Burton made 6-of-11 shots from the field, 4-of-9 free throws, and 2-of-4 from three point range filling up the stat sheet. Jordan Watson (Philadelphia, PA/Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) notched a season-high 17 points on 7-of-11 made shots from the field, dished out four assists, and went 3-for-5 from three point land. Vernon Young (Chicago, IL/University of St. Mary) made his first start as a Lion and finished with ten points and seven rebounds. Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) scored seven points, grabbed five rebounds, had two steals, and two assists while Charles Cooley (Brentwood, MD/University of Charleston) finished with five points, five rebounds, and a team-best five assists.

Lincoln will host Adelphi in their next game on Monday, November 30^th at 7 p.m. in Manuel Rivero Hall.