Lincoln men return to title game

Lincoln University men’s coach Jason Armstrong made no bones about what his team goal was when he opened his postgame news conference.

“We told you last year that we’d be back,” Armstrong said. “We’re not here to walk away with the second-place trophy this year. We are here to win a championship. That was our goal.”

The Lions will indeed get to play for that championship again after losing in it last season, but Claflin made sure it wouldn’t be an easy ride to the title game.

Lincoln built a large lead in the first half

and then hung on at the end to defeat Claflin, 58-52, in a CIAA Tournament semifinal at CFG Bank Arena.

Reggie Hudson led the Lions with 14 points, while John Whitehead III led Claflin (18-10, 14-6) with 10.

Lincoln (17-13, 12-7) will face either Fayetteville State or Virginia Union in Saturday’s 4 p.m. final.

The Lions came out like a house on fire, both on the offensive and defensive ends. Lincoln shot over 50% while building up an early lead, while the defense forced quick and off-the-mark shots. The Lions held the Panthers scoreless for 5:13 in the middle of the half while stretching a 17-11 lead to 26-11 with 7:47 left.

Claflin began to respond toward the end of the half, and a few more shots began to fall. Still, the Panthers found themselves trailing 35-23 at the break. Lincoln ended the half shooting 42% from the field while holding Claflin to only 27%.

Both teams started the second half off sluggish but gradually Claflin started to claw its way back into the game.

Trailing 47-37, Jailen Williams hit a layup and was fouled. After he made his free throw, the Panthers trailed 47-40 with 7:38 left. After Lincoln’s Ethan Garita hit a jumper to widen the margin to 49-40, the Panthers went on a 7-2 run to cut the score to 51-47 with 5:30 left.

Claflin finally tied the game at 52 on a layup by Williams with 2:32 left, but the Lions took the lead back just 18 seconds later when Reggie Hudson hit a jumper. On the ensuing offensive possession for Claflin, Lincoln’s Peter Sorber had a huge block on Williams, and the Lions made their free throws down the stretch for the win.

Hudson said that while the win was great, there’s still some unfinished business left.

“We’re glad to be back, but the job is not done,” he said. “We’re trying to make history. No team from Lincoln has ever won this title. We’re going to do it.”