Turnovers and fouls plagued the Lincoln University men's basketball team as they lost a hard-fought 70-65 decision to Central intercollegiate Athletic Association North division rival Bowie State University in front of a sellout crowd at Manuel Rivero Hall Saturday afternoon.
 
The Lions fall to 7-15 overall and 5-7 in CIAA games.   Bowie State improves to 9-13 overall and 6-6 in league play.
 
Sean James (Newark, Del./Iona College) was the lone Lion in double figures, coming off the bench to score 11 points.  James Richardson (Jersey City, N.J./Raritan Valley Community College), Khayyir Laws (Chester, Pa./Delaware County Community College) and Vernon Young (Chicago, Ill./University of St. Mary) added nine points apiece.  Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) chipped in eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
The Bulldogs placed four players in double figures led by Ahmaad Wilson's 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists.  Brian Kelley added 12 points and four assists.  Michael Briscoe and Enouma Ebinum chipped in 11 and 10 points respectively.  Omari George had four of BSU's ten blocks.
 
The Lions committed a season high 30 fouls in the contest, sending the Bulldogs to the free throw line to shoot 39 free throws.  BSU made 22.  Lincoln also committed 17 turnovers which led to 24 points off turnovers scored by the Bulldogs.  BSU held a 24-4 advantage in this category.
 
The turnovers became a factor in the second half with Bowie State scoring 16 of their 39 second half points off the LU miscues, five of which came over a 3:54 span that saw the Lions go from three points ahead to 12 points down.   Following that stretch the Lions embarked on a 9-1 uprising to close the gap within four 61-57 with 2:39 left in the game.  Bowie added four straight points to push the margin back to eight before Lincoln made one more run in the final minute.
 
James opened the 6-1 spurt with a layup and Young followed with a free throw. After a single free throw from BSU's Dayshawn Wells, Young connected a three-pointer to close the gap to three 66-63.  A pair of free throws from Wilson and a breakaway layup from Kelley sealed the win for the Bulldogs.  James' fast break layup as time was expiring finished the scoring.
 
Shooting-wise, the two teams were fairly even overall, with Lincoln shooting 38.3% (23-60) from the field and Bowie State shooting 36.8% (21-57).  The Bulldogs did make the most of their three-point attempts, connecting on six of 15 (40%) while the Lions made just seven of 26 (26.9%).  Lincoln also held a 47-34 advantage on the glass.
 
The Lions return to action on Wednesday, February 8, 2017 when they travel to face Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina.  Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.in what will Lincoln's final regular season road contest.