Three players reached double figures for the Lincoln University men's basketball team but the Lions defense could not contain the strong shooting effort from Shepherd University as the Rams pulled away in the second half to hand the Lions their third consecutive loss, 93-63 Friday afternoon at the Butcher Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
 
The Lions fall to 6-7 overall with the loss. The Lions have also lost all four games they have played at West Virginia schools this season.  Shepherd improves to 6-6 overall.  The game was the Lions final non-conference game of the regular season.
 
Sean James (Newark, Del./Christiana (Iona)) led the Lions with 16 points while Elijah Bush (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore (Essex County CC)) added 14 (6-8 FG).  Gevon Arrington (Petersburg, Va./Petersburg (Richard Bland)) rounded out Lincoln's double figure scorers with 12 points (7-8 FT). Deaquan Williams (Camden, N.J./Camden) recorded a career high 15 rebounds in the loss.
 
Shepherd put five players in double figures led by Steffen Davis' 20 points.  Thomas Lang and Winston Burgess added 19 and 17 points respectively. Gavin McTavish and AJ Carr had 13 and 12 points and led the team with eight rebounds apiece.  Burgess also grabbed eight rebounds.
 
The Rams shot extremely well throughout the game, finishing at a 49.3% clip (34-69).  This included a 54.6% effort in the second half (18-33).  Shepherd finished the game with 15 three-point field goals, the most Lincoln has allowed in a game this season.  The Rams shot 44.1% from three-point range.
 
Lincoln showcased patience and good ball movement in the first half as they shot 41.9% (13-31) against the Rams defense and trailed by only nine at the half 43-34.  Shepherd's zone defense however took over as the game progressed, slowing down LU's dribble penetration and forcing the Lions to take tougher shots.  This was reflected I their shooting percentage as Lincoln shot just 7-for-32 (21.9%) in the period and just 2-for-13 (15.4%) from deep.  Nearly half of the Lions 29 second half points came from the foul line, turning in a solid 13-for-16 effort in the half and 17-22 (77.3%) for the game.
 
The Lions did hold an early lead with a Myles Markland (Petersburg, Va./Matoaca (Richard Bland)) layup putting LU up 8-6 just four minutes into the contest.  The rams countered with a 14-6 flourish to take a six point lead at 20-14.  The Lions cut the deficit to one on two occasions and trailed by only three 37-34 with just under two minutes remaining.  Consecutive baskets from deep by Lang and Davis in the final 80 seconds of the half pushed the Rams lead to its highest point of the first half, nine 43-34.
 
Shepherd pushed the lead to double digits early the second half and pulled away midway through the period using a 30-9 uprising over a ten-minute stretch to lead 86-56 with just 4:26 left before settling in for the 30-point win.
 
The Lions return to action and resume conference play when they host Fayetteville State University on Thursday, January 4, 2018.  Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.