Clutch defense and free throw shooting down the stretch carried the Lincoln University men's basketball team to their third win in four games with a 67-62 triumph over Bowie State University Saturday afternoon at the A.C. Jordan Arena in Bowie, Maryland.
The Lions improve to 5-11 overall and 4-3 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association games. Bowie State falls to 7-10 overall and 4-3 in league play.
Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) led all scorers with 23 points and added 13 rebounds to record his fourth double-double of the season.
Carlton Allen (Trenton, N.J./Manhattan College) added eight points and six boards while
Blair Davis (Baltimore Md./Baltimore City College HS) chalked up nine points and
James Richardson (Jersey City, N.J./Raritan Valley Community College) added eight.
Ahmaad Wilson led the Bulldogs with 19 points while Brian Kelley added 14 and Omari George chipped in 10 points. Enouma Ebinum had seven blocks.
Momentum in the game went back and forth between the two teams the entire 40 minutes with neither team leading by any more than six points in the contest. The game saw 13 lead changes and nine ties.
On the offensive end, the Lions were clutch at the free throw line, making 21-29 for the game including eight of ten in the final 2:24, which included the game tying and go-ahead points for the Lions. Defensively, the Lions held the Bulldogs without a field goal for the final 5:14 of the game, while outscoring their hosts 11-5 over that span.
The Lions led 37-33 at the break and built their lead to 51-45 midway through the period, the largest margin by either team. The Bulldogs followed with a 10-0 run to take a four point lead 55-51 with 7:37 left on a Wilson layup. The Lions roared back with five straight points to retake the lead at 56-55 after Richardson's bucket. The lead changed hands three times over the next 90 seconds before the lions made their final push.
Richardson tied the game at 60-60 with a free throw with 2:24 left and after a defensive hold,
Blair Davis (Baltimore Md./Baltimore City College HS) was fouled and calmly made both free throws to put the Lions ahead 62-60. Another defensive hold and subsequent foul put
Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) on the line for two more points giving the Lions a 64-60 lead. Ebinum closed the gap to 64-62 with two free throws and the Lions defense held form, stopping the Bulldogs again.
Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) added another point to his tally making one of two and after a fourth defensive stop, Allen was fouled and sank two more with ten seconds left to provide the final points for the Lions.
Lincoln's streak of 163 consecutive games making a three-point field goal did come to an end as the Lions were 0-11 from beyond the arc. The last game that the Lions failed to make a three-point field goal was on Feb. 8, 2011 vs. Chowan University.
The Lions finished the game shooting 23-60 (38.3%) from the field while the Bulldogs shot 35.1% (20-57). Lincoln dominated the glass, outrebounding their foe, 55-31 including an 18-8 advantage on the offensive glass. Lincoln's 55 rebounds are they most they have ever recorded in a game in the team's NCAA Division II era and the most since they pulled down 55 against Briarcliffe College on February 16, 2008.
The Lions return to action on Wednesday, January 18, 2016 when they host Elizabeth city State University at Manuel Rivero Hall. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.
