ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Senior Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) led five Lions in double figures with 20 points on a career-high 10-of-12 made free-throws in a 86-82 road win for Lincoln at Elizabeth City State University on Wednesday, February 11^th in the RL Vaughan Center.

Lincoln got an early spark from their bench led by junior Kelly Marsh (Smithfield, NC/Pitt Community College). In eight minutes of first half action, Marsh scored 15 points including 4-of-5 made three-pointers and 3-of-4 shots from the free-throw line. Marsh's hot shooting helped Lincoln build a double digit advantage by the 7:21 mark. Senior Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) also reached double figure scoring in the opening half with ten points to go along with four assists. The Vikings shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from the field but had nine costly turnovers that led to 17 points for the Lions. Lincoln converted on 10-of-13 free-throws and was 6-of-15 from long range holding a 42-37 halftime lead.

In the second half both teams shot the ball well at 50 percent from the field. Lincoln made 20 free-throws in the half compared to 16 by the Vikings led by their point guards. Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) and freshman Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) dictated the Lions attack and aggressively combined to knock down 13-of-15 second half free-throws. ECSU held a 70-68 advantage with 5:24 left in regulation before the Lions rallied to victory.

Sophomore Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College)' tip-in tied the game for the 12^th time at 70-70. The Vikings missed on their next attempt from the field leading to a fast break three-pointer by LU senior Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional HS). In the final minutes of action, Aiken and Burton each made a pair of free-throws keeping the Lions ahead by a slim margin. Lincoln led 82-79 with 11-seconds remaining as Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) was fouled and was sent to the free-throw line. Davis extended the LU lead to 83-79 by making 1-of-2 from the line but responded with a timely steal in the final seconds to seal the win in their final road game of the season, 86-82 over the Vikings. The Lions bench outscored ECSU's bench 20-11 led by Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) and Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS)'s eight second half points.

Five Lions scored in double figures led by Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS)'s 20 points. Aiken made a career-high 10-of-12 free-throws and dished out a game-high six assists. Kelly Marsh (Smithfield, NC/Pitt Community College) had a season-high 15 points and both Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) and Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional HS) finished with 12 points each. Davis collected a team-high eight rebounds while Efese had six rebounds, three steals, two blocks, and two assists. Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) scored 11 points and senior Alonzo Murphy (Pittsburgh, PA/California University (PA)) had six points with three blocked shots.

The Lions improve to 14-9 overall and 8-5 in the CIAA while Elizabeth City State drops to 9-17 overall and 2-11 in the CIAA. The Vikings also had five score in double digits led by Darrell Ward's game-high 23 points and nine rebounds.   

The Lions return home for their final three regular season games beginning with Virginia Union University on Saturday, February 14^th at 4 p.m.