Lincoln University's men's basketball team proved to be no match for the red-hot Caldwell University squad as the Cougars cruised to an easy 101-68 win over the Lions Saturday afternoon at the Newman Center in Caldwell, New Jersey.
 
The Lions remain winless at 0-4 while the Cougars improve to 3-1.
 
Caldwell shot a blistering 73.3% from the field in the first half, making 22 of 30 shots including a 10-16 effort from beyond the arc (62.5%) as they built a 61-38 lead over the first 20 minutes and cruised the rest of the way.  The Cougars placed five players in double figures for the game, led by Derek Dorn and Ahmad Harrison scoring 15 points apiece.  Vaughn Covington added 13 points and dished out a game-high seven assists.
 
Lincoln was led by Vernon Young (Chicago, Ill./University of St. Mary) and Sean James (Newark, Del./Iona College).  Both players scored ten points, with Young also leading the team with six rebounds.  James Richardson (Jersey City, N.J./Raritan Valley Community College) dished out a team-high three assists.
 
The Cougars made their first eight shots of the game and jumped out to a 21-10 lead just 5:26 into the first period. Four minutes later the lead was up to 17 at 34-17 with Caldwell still shooting at a breakneck pace, making 13 of 14 shots at this point.  Three-pointers from James and Young pulled the Lions within 11, 34-23 with 9:58 left in the half but four more field goals without miss led to an 11-2 uprising and the Cougars were now up by 20, 45-25 with 7:45 left in the period.  Tracey Nelson (Waldorf, Md./Maryland Eastern Shore)'s 'trey' with 6:56 left made the score 45-28.  The Cougars closed out the half with a 16-10 spurt to lead 61-38 at the break.
 
A 10-1 run to open the second half pushed the lead to 32, 71-39.The Lions then scored seven straight points, with Umar Saaba (Philadelphia, Pa./Boys Latin HS) netting five of them to cut the gap to 25, 71-46 at the 12:32 mark but that would be as close as the Lions would get as the Cougars within three minutes again had the lead up to 30, a level it would not fall below the rest of the game.
 
The Cougars outscored the Lions 40-24 in the paint and had a 29-4 advantage in fast-break points.  Caldwell finished the game shooting 62.7% (37-59) from the field and 15-29 (51.7%) from beyond the arc.  Lincoln shot 36.4% (24-66) for the game and 32.1% (9-28) from beyond the arc.
 
The Lions will return to southern Chester County for their home opener on Tuesday as they host another East Region squad, Queen College at Manuel Rivero Hall.  Tip off is set for 8:00 p.m.