A big second half flourish by Shepherd University  turned a close game into a blowout as the Rams came away with a 60-50 win over Lincoln University in men's basketball action at Manuel Rivero Hall Friday night.

The Lions fall to 2-10 with the loss, their third straight.  The Rams improve to 5-5.

James Richardson (Jersey City, N.J./Raritan Valley Community College) was the lone lion to reach double figures scoring wise, notching 16 points (5-15 FG, 6-6 FT).  Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) came off the bench to score eight points and grab ten rebounds.  Malachi Seney (Philadelphia, Pa./Harford Community College) led the Lions with four assists (all in the first half).

The Rams put three players in double figures, led by Steffan Davis' 22 points.  A.J. Carr added 14 points and Gavin McTavish came off the bench to score 10.  Naim Muhammed led all players with 15 rebounds and seven assists.

Lincoln trailed by one 39-38 with 7:54 left in the game when the Rams exploded with a 21-4 uprising that turned the close contest into a blowout, as Shepherd took a 60-42 lead with 1:48 remaining.  Steffen Davis had 13 of his 22 points during the run.  Lincoln did close out the game on an 8-0 flourish with Richardson and Josh Davis getting four points apiece in the final 1:35.

The 21-4 run by Shepherd took much of the suspense out of play as to who would prevail as both teams traded the lead back and forth throughout much of the first 33 minutes of action (four ties, seven lead changes).  Lincoln led by as many as six early in the game, only to have Shepherd come back and take a five point lead before the first half ended with the game tied at 24-24.

Shepherd took a four point lead three minutes into the second half, only to have the Lions roar back with an 8-0 run to reverse the score and lead by four 34-30 with 14:04 left.  A 7-0 run by Shepherd gave the lead back to the visitors at 37-34.  Lincoln scored four of the next six points to pull within one 39-38 before the Rams embarked on their final run.  The Rams connected on eight of ten shots during the 21-4 spurt including two uncontested three-pointers from Steffen Davis to cap the run.

The hot shooting by Shepherd over that six minute stretch greatly contributed to their 57.7% (15-26) second half shooting effort and a 42.9% mark for the game (24-56).   The Lions meanwhile were struggling from the field the entire night, shooting just 32.1% (9-28) in the opening half and 25% (11-44) in the second to finish the game shooting 27.8% (20-72).  The Rams also dominated the glass, outrebounding the Lions 48-39.   Lincoln did not have a single assist on their 11 second half field goals and finished the game with nine.  The Rams had 15 assists.  Lincoln did commit 10 fewer turnovers (12-22) and turned in a better assist turnover ratio (9/12 to 15/22).

The Lions return to action on January 5, 2017 when they play at Fayetteville State University.  Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.