The Lincoln University men's basketball team let a double digit first half lead slip away as the dropped their fifth consecutive game 76-72 to Virginia State University  Saturday afternoon at Manuel Rivero Hall.
 
The Lions conclude the regular season with a 7-19 overall record and a 5-11 mark in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association games.  They will be the fifth seed from the CIAA north division in the upcoming CIAA tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina starting on Tuesday of next week.   The Trojans improve to 21-5 overall and a 13-3 mark in CIAA games.
 
Senior Malachi Seney (Philadelphia, Pa./Harford Community College) and junior Sean James (Newark, Del./Iona College) led the Lions with 13 points apiece.  Senior Vernon Young (Chicago, Ill./University of St. Mary) chipped in ten points.  Young and Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) led the team with six rebounds apiece.
 
Kevin Williams led four VSU players in double figures with 17 points.  Elijah Moore and Richard Granberry added 14 points apiece and Walter Williams chipped in 13.   Granberry led the team with eight rebounds.  
 
Lincoln opened the game with an 11-3 flourish before the Trojans cut the lead in half at 11-7 with 12:26 left.  A 16-4 uprising by the Lions followed, giving Lincoln a 16-point advantage at 27-11.  Davis started the run with a layup followed by 3-balls from James and Tracey Nelson (Waldorf, Md./Maryland Eastern Shore) to push the lead into double digits.  Khayyir Laws (Chester, Pa./Delaware County Community College) finished the run with two straight baskets.  Young's three-pointer at the 6:14 mark again pushed the lead back to 16 at 30-14.   The Trojans spent the last six minutes of the half clawing back into the game, using a 19-9 run to cut the Lions lead to six at halftime 39-33.
 
Seney's triple just 90 seconds into the second half pushed LU's lead back to nine, 44-35 before the Trojans broke out with an 18-8 run to take the lead for the first time in the game, 53-52 with 13:22 left.  Seney made the first of two free throws on the Lions next possession to tie the game at 53-all and was followed by two VSU three-pointers that gave the visitors a six point lead at 59-53 at the 11:02 mark.  Over the next 5:36 the Trojans increased the lead to double digits with a 13-4 flourish to take their biggest lead of the game at 72-57 with 5:26 left.  The Lions slowly began to chip away at the deficit, cutting the lead to single digits with a 9-3 spurt.  Time however was a factor as the Lions needed to overcome a nine point deficit (75-66) with just 1:40 left on the clock.  The Lions did put in a great effort attempting to doing so however, scoring the next six points capped by a Young 3-ball with just 11 seconds left to close within three 75-72.  Moore then made one of two free throws with 9.9 seconds left to close out the scoring.
 
Lincoln will open conference tournament play on Tuesday at the Bojangles Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.