Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Lincoln men’s Cinderella run continues
All year long, the Lincoln University men’s basketball team was playing tough, keeping close with everyone they ran into. But coming close and winning are two very different things, and the young Lions squad simply had trouble closing out games.
As such, Lincoln entered the CIAA Tournament with a record right around the .500 mark, and earned the sixth seed. Safe to say, no one outside Lincoln, and maybe even few inside Lincoln, gave the team much of a chance.
But all those close games and tough losses simply served as learning experiences, and prepared Lincoln for this post season.
After an opening round win over No. 11 Johnson C Smith, the Lions turned back No. 3 Virginia State to move on to Friday’s semi-final round, where they squared off against second-seeded, Fayetteville State.
Despite some big early swings in the score, the game hovered around a 2-4 point margin for most of the second half. But this is a Lincoln team that has found itself, believes in itself, and has learned to close out games. The Lions edged the Broncos by a score of 53-49 to earn the first CIAA championship game in program history.
Lincoln will square off against Winston-Salem State, also an upset winner in the semifinals, knocking off top-seeded Virginia Union, at 1 p.m.
“Wow, what a game, huh?” said Lincoln coach Jason Armstrong. “Our Cinderlella run just keeos moving on. We’ve still got one more dance to go.”
Down 23-22 at haltime, Lincoln and FSU traded buckets over the next 10 minutes and the margin stayed tight. With just over 10 minutes to play, Reggie Hudson grabbed a rebound and went coast to coast to give Lincoln its first lead since the first half, 43-41.
“Reggie Hudson should have been a part of that all-conference backcourt,” said Armstrong. “No one works harder, and even though he’s up against the other team’s best players game in and
game out, he always comes through. I’m really upset he didn’t get the recognition he so richly deserves.”
Hudson’s crosscourt sprint sparked a nice 13-3 run for the Lions, to give Lincoln their biggest lead f the game. But the Broncos crawled back in it, creeping to within three
points in the game’s final minute.
“We pride ourselves on our defense,” said Armstrong. “It helps us take off on a run, and when we go on a run, it builds confidence. When teams
punch, we punch back, That run give us the spark we needed, and we really never looked back.”
The Lions put a trio of player into double-digits on the day. Hudson and Ethan Garita led the way with 11
points each, while Korey Williams continued to have a hot hand with ten.
“We are one family and one team, and its all coming together at the right time,” said Armstrong. “We’re playing with a lot
of heart right now. We know we can play with Winston-Salem. Tomorrow is going to be a lot of fun. We’re going to bring out the crowd. Might as well call it The Lions’ Den South”