The Lions of Lincoln persevered and never gave up in their first round matchup in the CIAA Championships game versus Winston Salem State University tonight. They fought hard for every basket made and were tough on defense. Their tenacity and belief in themselves proved to be the winning recipe for ending a 7 game losing streak that ended their regular season. The final score 67-65.

The Lions started slow and found themselves struggling for offense in the first half. They shot 34% to the Rams 36% but missed some free throws and saw their opponents hit a few three points for a 6 point lead after the first half. In the second half junior forward Vernon Young (Chicago, IL/University of St. Mary) got hot and lead his team back. The Lions were able to score on some good old fashion pick and roll plays that caught the Rams of guard. Vernon Young (Chicago, IL/University of St. Mary)'s 19 points led his team in scoring. He along with sophomore Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) who scored 14 points were able to give the Lions their first lead with a little more than 5 minutes left in the game. As the clock wound down the action was furious. There were great defensive plays by each team and the score was tied eight different times in the final 4.44 seconds. From that point it looked as though the Lions season would end as the Rams took a five point lead with less than 2 minutes left in the game. They didn't give in and was able to force a turnover and score on a tough layup by Vernon Young (Chicago, IL/University of St. Mary) who was fouled on the play. He hit the free throw and the Lions were just down by two. The next few moments saw fast action that led to a missed shot by the games' leading scorer Terrell Leach who scored 21 points. They recovered the rebound and charged up the court in an attempt to win or tie the game down by 2 points. Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) attacked the left side of the basket and was forced to stop by the Rams defense. He was determined to get his shot off and with his 11 seconds on the clock he was able to hit an off balance one handed tear drop that found its' way into the side of the basket. The game was tied and the Rams had 11 seconds to tie or win the game. They called timeout with 7.5 seconds on the clock and went into their huddle to come up with the right play. The play was for Terrell Leach whose shot hit the rim. The struggle for the rebound ended with the buzzer and the Lions and Rams were in overtime.

The overtime was much like regulations in that each team tried to use their speed to get to the basket. The result was the Lions taking a 6 point lead with less than a minute left thanks to Vernon Young (Chicago, IL/University of St. Mary) and Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) saving their best for last. The victory is the first CIAA Championship game win for the Lions since their return to the CIAA conference.

The next game is against Livingston University Wednesday night. Game time is 8:50.