BALTIMORE, Md. – The Lincoln University of Pennsylvania men's basketball program is moving on to the CIAA Semifinals for the first time in school history, toppling the third-seeded Trojans of Virginia State, 76-67.
 
This is the farthest the Lions have advanced in a conference tournament since re-joining the CIAA in 2008 after its 48-year absence.

What You Need to Know:
 

• Score: #6 Lincoln (PA) 76 | #3 Virginia State 67

 

• Records: Lincoln-PA (16-14, 8-8 CIAA) | Virginia State (17-11, 10-6 CIAA)

 

• Location: Baltimore, Maryland – CFG Bank Arena

 

• Winning Streak: Lincoln-PA (W1) | Virginia State's Last Win: February 4, 2023 (61-58)

 
Lincoln (PA) Top Performers:
 

• Three players accounted for 63 of the squad's 76 points (82.9%) as the terrific trio of Bakir Cleveland (Newark, N.J./University) (24), Korey Williams (Brooklyn, N.Y./LaSalle Academy) (21), and Reggie Hudson (Bronx, N.Y./St. Raymond's) (18) put the team on their back, shooting the Lions into the conference semifinals.

 

• Cleveland was blistering hot from the field especially from three-point range, going 7-of-11 (63.6%) on the night and a perfect 5-for-5 on long range connections as well as five makes in five attempts at the charity stripe.

 

• His five triples were a career-high while also recording three boards, two dimes, and a swat.

 

• Williams was fantastic in his own right, dropping another 20-burger on an unsuspecting CIAA foe, nailing six buckets including three treys plus a contest-best four assists.

 

• The third of the "Three Musketeers" for Coach Armstrong, Hudson made a career-best 11 freebies from the line with three two-pointers and a three-ball on top of five rebounds.

 

• Peter Sorber (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic) threw his version of an Inner Harbor block party, sending a game-high four Trojan shot attempts into the CFG Bank Arena cheap seats while being the contest's rebounding leader at seven.

 
Notes:
 

• The defense played lights out basketball, holding the Trojans under 30% shooting at 18-of-61 (29.5%) and 4-for-21 (19%) from distance.

 

• On the flip side, Lincoln had a deadly efficient offensive night, draining a season-high 75% of its 12 three-point attempts (9 makes) and converting on 51.2% of its shots overall.

 

• The Orange and Blue forced VSU into foul trouble all night long, getting Virginia State to commit 28 personal fouls as five Trojans committed four fouls apiece.

 
Next:
 

• Lincoln will hope to keep its improbable championship run going when it battles the #2 Fayetteville State Broncos at 6 p.m. Friday night.

 

• The last time the Lions and Broncos squared off on January 5 in Manuel Rivero Gymnasium, FSU came away with a narrow 65-64 edge.