Queens College used a late rally to spoil the Lincoln University men's basketball team's home opener Tuesday night, handing the Lions a 76-71 defeat in overtime at Manuel Rivero Hall.

The Lions remain winless at 0-5 while the Knights improve to 3-2.

Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) and Vernon Young (Chicago, Ill./University of St. Mary) each recorded a double-double to pace the Lions offensive effort.  Davis notched a team-high 21 points while grabbing 12 rebounds while Young added 15 points and 10 rebounds.  The game marks the first time two Lincoln players recorded a double-double in the same game since November 17, 2010 when Gene Smith and Terron Jones achieved the feat against Holy Family University. 

Diego Maldonado led the Knights with 35 points (11-15 FG, 9-10 FT). Tyree White and Isaac Grant both had double-doubles for Queens.  Grant had 14 points and ten rebounds while White had 13 points and ten rebounds.

The Lions led by as many as 11 in the second half, holding down a 52-41 lead midway through the period and seemingly in control of the tempo.  The Knights, however had other plans – and used a 12-1 run to tie the game at 53-53 with six minutes remaining.   After a pair of layups from Young which put LU back up by three, 57-54, Maldonado and White sank consecutive baskets to give Queens their first lead of the game at 58-57.  The Knights built their lead to four 63-59 before Davis ran off five consecutive points, giving the Lions a 64-63 lead with 56 seconds in regulation.   White's free throw with 10 seconds left tied the score at 64-all.  Lincoln attempt to win at the buzzer fell short and the two teams headed for overtime.

The overtime period belonged to the Knights as they scored the five of the first six points in the first two minutes to take a 69-65 lead.  Young's triple at the 2:19 mark closed the gap to 69-68 but QC pushed the lead back to four via a traditional three point play by White with 29 seconds remaining.   Sean James (Newark, Del./Iona College)  drained a three-pointer to again pull the Lions within one, 72-71 with 19 seconds left before the Knights closed out the game with four straight points  to earn the five-point victory.

Queens made better use of their shots, making 44.6% (25-56) from the field.  The Lions while taking 16 more shots than the Knights made two fewer field goals (23-72) to shoot 31.1% from the field.  Both teams made four three point field goals.  The Lions were more efficient from the free throw line making 21 of 26 (80.8%) shots while Queens made 22 of 34 (64.7%).  Lincoln held a big advantage on the boards, outrebounding Queens 52-36, which included a 21-6 advantage on the offensive glass.  Lincoln also committed three more turnovers on the night (18-15).

The Lions return to action on Saturday, November 26, 2016 with an afternoon game at Millersville University.  Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m.