LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. – The Lions rallied back to force Virginia State University into overtime, but their attempt came up short in the extra session falling, 72-64, on Saturday, February 21^st in Manuel Rivero Hall. Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional HS) had 11 points with a career-high 14 rebounds powering the Lions.

The Lions held the Trojans scoreless in the opening moments of the game getting off to a positive start. The Trojans finally made a basket by the 15-minute mark after trailing LU 8-0 and then quickly went on a run of their own. Virginia State's10-2 run by the 9:45 mark got them back into the action and tied the game at 12-12. Jordan Watson (Philadelphia, PA/Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) made a pair of shots from downtown and led the Lions with eight first half points. Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional HS) had five points to go along with five first half rebounds and Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) added four points. Defensively, both teams were held to a low shooting percentage and equally making only seven first half field goals. The largest lead of the half was the Lions by eight early on, but Virginia State powered back and trailed Lincoln 22-19 at halftime. 

The LU bench powered the second half with 22 points led by the dup of Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) and Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS). Davis was 6-fo-6 from the free-throw line with eight points and Burton had seven points. Lincoln led until the Trojans tied the game at 36-35 with 12-minutes left. VSU began to control the momentum and open up a five point cushion in the final minutes of action. Lincoln trials 53-48 with 2:09 and used the final minutes to battle back and tie the game for the ninth time.

Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) made a pair of free-throws with 1:00 on the game cutting the Trojans lead to 53-51. Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional HS) came up with a key defensive play with a blocked shot and then going to free-throw line and making 1-of-2 attempts for the Lions. Lincoln quickly fouled and forced VSU to the line. The Trojans also made 1-of-2 attempts from the charity stripe with 21 seconds left extending their lead to 54-52. Lincoln drew up a final play and found Chaz Sharp (Baltimore, MD/Xavier University of Louisiana) underneath the hoop for the game tying basket as he was fouled by the VSU defender. Sharp's bucket left five seconds on the clock and he had a chance to take the lead after his free-throw attempt. His attempt missed and the game was sent into overtime.

In the extra session, Virginia State dominated with 9-of-12 made free-throws and forcing four Lions turnovers. Lincoln was unable to defend the Trojans and struggled on 3-of-9 attempts from the field. Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) and Jordan Watson (Philadelphia, PA/Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) both made a pair of three's in the overtime period but Virginia State outscored Lincoln 18-10 and won 72-64.

Four Lions finished in double-figures led by 11 points from both Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional HS) and Jordan Watson (Philadelphia, PA/Springside Chestnut Hill Academy). Efese recorded a double-double finishing with a career-high 14 rebounds and four steals. Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) finished with ten points along with Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College)' ten points. Davis was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line and Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) scored nine points. Lincoln honored seven seniors prior to their game with the Trojans; Will Cole (Newark, NJ/Cesar Chavez HS), Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional HS), Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS), Daniel Pendleton (Philadephia, PA/MCSCS), Alonzo Murphy (Pittsburgh, PA/California University (PA)), DuMone Leatherwood (Washington, DC/Cameron University), and Demetrius Johnson (Baltimore, MD/Milford Mill HS).

Lincoln ends their regular season with a 16-10 overall record and 10-6 CIAA conference record ranking third in the CIAA Northern Division heading into the CIAA Basketball Tournament.