Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Lincoln rolls in first round of CIAA Tournament
BALTIMORE >> Korey Williams made history as the sixth-seeded Lincoln University men’s basketball team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the CIAA tournament with a convincing 82-50 win over No. 10 Johnson C. Smith University Wednesday morning at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore.
The Lions move on to Thursday’s quarterfinal, where they square off against No. 3 Virginia State University.
“I wasn’t really sure how the team was going to respond to playing an early morning game like this, but they came out strong,” said Lincoln coach Jason Armstrong. “But from breakfast this morning, I could see that this team was focused on winning this game, and all on the same page.”
Williams, a senior guard from Brooklyn, NY, became the first player in school history to reach 2,000 career points. Williams finished with 14 points on the day, one of four Lions to reach double-digits.
“Obviously, it’s cool to reach a milestone like this,” said Williams. “But that wasn’t what mattered today. That wasn’t the main focus, it just happened to come today. The important thing was winning the game, and we’re not done yet.”
Lincoln coach Jason Armstrong has had a long history with Williams, so wasn’t at all surprised to see the Lions’ star become the first at a school that prides itself on being “the First.”
“Korey and I went to the same high school, so I’ve been watching him play since he was on the junior varsity. To see him come from where he was, to the man he’s become is a testament to his hard work, and I couldn’t be more
proud of him.”
Williams was 6-of-12 from the floor. Sophomore guard Bakir Cleveland led the way with 15 points, including a 3-of-4 performance from three-point range. Reggie Hudson had 13 and Freddie Young, Jr. chipped in with 10 points. Hudson also added five assists and a pair of steals.
“Every game’s got to be 40 minutes of focus,” said Hudson. “It doesn’t matter how we get it done. It doesn’t matter who does the scoring. All that matters is getting it done and getting the win. We won the first one, now we’ve got to get it done against Virginia State.”
After shaking off some early morning fog, the Lions broke open what was a tight, back-and-forth game for the first few minutes. Trailing by three five minutes in, Lincoln went on an 18-2 run to break things open, sparked by Cleveland, who tallied 10 of his 15 points in the first half, and Marshall Roberson, who shot a tidy 3-of-4, including a three, in the first half.
Lincoln was getting it done on the other end, too, limiting the Bulls to a miserable 30 percent from the field and forcing 12 turnovers, helping the Lions to a seven-point advantage in points off turnovers.
“Bakir came out ready to play and shot the ball well,” said Armstrong. “He came out ready to play. He started as a freshman, so he’s been in this situation, and knows what it’s like to play on this stage. So does Korey, so does Reggie, so has Janaie (CoatesSinues). We lost on a buzzer beater last year and it hurt, a lot. These guys did not want to lose today in the first game. They were focused and hungry, and you can’t ask more than that from your players.”
The Lions are familiar with their next opponent. Lincoln split the regular season series with Virginia State.
“They beat us when we went down there to play,”
said Armstrong. “We beat them at our place last time we played. We know them, they know us. We kind of self-destructed in the final two minutes in the game we lost, so we are looking forward to it. It’s a quick turnaround, 24 hours, but we’ll be ready.”