Jamari Tillman (Louisville, Ky./Doss) and Alisia Machado (Brooklyn, N.Y./Medgar Evars Prep (Grambling)) recorded career-highs as the Lions had an explosive second half, outscoring Shaw University 47-27 in the final two quarters to earn an 80-61 win at C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium in Raleigh, North Carolina Monday night.
 
The Lions improve to 9-9 on the season and 3-4 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) games.   Shaw falls to 3-12 overall and 0-7 in league play.
 
Tillman scored 18 points, connecting on 7 of 12 field goals including two three pointers.  The freshman guard also had four steals.  Machado added 15 points (5-6 FG, 5-6 FT) and six rebounds.  Kwanza Murray (Summerville, S.C./Summerville (Lackawanna College)) led all scorers with 21 points and grabbed a team high nine rebounds.
 
Trailing 34-33 at the half, Lincoln opened the third quarter with a 13-2 run and took a 57-45 lead after three quarters.  The Lions added to their lead in the fourth quarter leading by as many as 24 points down the stretch.  Lincoln scored 27 off 47 points off Shaw turnovers in the second half of play.  The Lions defense forced 21 turnovers in the final 20 minutes and the Bears finished the game with 28.
 
Deja Reynolds (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter (Temple)) (8 points) and Tillman started an 8-0 run in the first quarter with consecutive three-pointers to break a 7-7 tie and give the Lion a 15-7 lead before the Bears came right back closing out the quarter on a 14-3 tear.  The Bears added the first eight points of the second quarter to lead by 11, 29-18 with 6:59 left.
 
The Lions however came back with a vengeance, going on an 11-0 tear to tie the game at 29-29.  Murray had nine of the 11 points.  Shaw pushed the lead back to five before the Lions closed the gap to one with a layup from Tillman and two free throws from Machado.
 
Both teams shot the ball fairly well with the Lions making 29 of 67 shots (43.3%) from the field and the Bears connecting on 24 of 56 (42.9%).  Lincoln doubled up the Bears beyond the arc, making eight threes to the host team's four.  Turnovers played the key role as Lions outscored the Bears 33-6 in the points off turnovers category.
 
The women's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, January 19, 2019 when they travel to play Bowie State University.  Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m.