The Lincoln University men's basketball team overcame a double-digit second half deficit before falling short in their bid to defeat Virginia State University, 70-68 Monday night at Manuel Rivero Hall.
 
Lincoln falls to 7-15 overall and 3-7 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) games.  Virginia State, the CIAA North Division leader, improves to 15-6 overall, 9-1 in league play.
 
Bernard Lightsey (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the second half fueling the Lions comeback.  Lightsey connected on six of 11 shots from beyond the arc.  Deaquan Williams (Camden, N.J./Camden) notched his 13^th double-double of the season with a 15-point, ten rebound effort while Deonta Dunlap (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill Academy) added ten points.
 
The Trojans jumped out in front early, building a double-digit lead as high as 13 in the first half before the Lions scored the final five points of the period to close within eight 32-24 at halftime.
 
Three straight baskets by the Lions to open the second half, pulled Lincoln within two, 32-30, forcing a Trojan timeout.  The Trojans came out of the timeout on fire and ran off 12 straight points to take their biggest lead at 44-30 at the 14:34 mark before Lightsey broke the string with a three-ball and spurring a 17-9 uprising that again brought the Lions within striking distance 53-47 with just under ten minutes remaining.
 
The Lions continued to whittle away at the lead with a layup from Markus Stevenson (Voorhees, N.j./Hillcrest Prep (Ariz.) (Angelina College)) at the 6:53 mark cutting the lead in half, 54-57 and free throws from Dunlap and Williams closing pulling LU within two at 61-59 with 4:48 left.  Back-to-back layups from Stevenson and Lightsey gave the Lions their first lead of the half 63-61 with 3:50 left.   The Trojans came back and tied the score twice, the last on an Andrew Corum three-ball with 1:23 left.  VSU added another basket and free throw  over the next minute to take a three point lead.  Williams closed the gapto two with a free throw with 5.9 seconds and after a missed front end of a one-and-one, the Lions had one more chance to tie or win the game, but had to go the length of the floor with 3.9 seconds remaining.  Lightsey's last shot was off the mark as the Trojans held on for the 70-68 win.
 
Corum led four Trojan players in double figures with 21 points.  Armond Greibe added 12 points while Lual Daniel Rahama and William Vedder chipped in ten apiece.  Rahama and Walter Williams had eight rebounds apiece.
 
The Lions return to action on Saturday, February 1, 2020 when they host Shaw University. Tipoff is at 4 p.m.