ETTRICK, Va. – Lincoln’s attempt at a come from behind win fell short in overtime against Virginia State University 73-69 on Saturday at Daniel Gymnasium.
The Lions outscored the Trojans 38-25 in the second half after trailing by 13 at halftime.
After an early lead over the Trojans, Lincoln fell behind and trailed Virginia State for majority of the game.
Senior Daniel Pendleton (Philadephia, PA/MCSCS) scored six first half points while senior Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional HS) and sophomore Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) added five points each.
The Lions were 9-for-22 (40-percent) from the field compared to 12-of-23 (52-percent) by the Trojans. At the half, Virginia State held a 35-22 lead.
In the second half Lincoln improved their defensive play and climbed back into the ball game by the midway point.
The Trojans extended their lead after a technical foul on the Lions bench (51-34) building their largest lead of the night with 11:29 in regulation.
From that point on Lincoln turned up the pressure and got to the free-throw line several times cutting into the Trojan advantage.
The Lions made 19-of-22 second half free-throws and held VSU to four made field goals. Senior Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St.
Joseph Regional HS)’s three-pointer lowered the deficit to ten (53-43) by the 9:21 mark. A few possessions later, freshman Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) also made a three-pointer for the Lions that reduced the lead to 55-48.
Lincoln made seven consecutive free-throws over the next three minutes of action and fought their way back into the game with 4:38 left on the clock. Sophomore Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) drove hard to the paint against the VSU defenders and tied the game at 57-57 at the 4:38 mark.
Lincoln trailed by double digits and rallied back to take a 59-58 lead after senior Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS)’s layup with two minutes left to play.
Virginia State answered back with 58 seconds on a layup to go ahead 60-59. LU’s Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) had the chance to be the hero after drawing a foul with 30 seconds left, but he made one of his two attempts and sent the game into overtime tied at 60-60.
The Lions outscored the Trojans 38-25 in the second half led by their bench. Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) had nine second half points while Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) added seven points as the bench torched the Trojans bench 19-3.
Defensively, the Lions held the Trojans to four made second half field goals shooting 23 percent from the field.
In the overtime session, Virginia State made 11-of-12 free-throws in front of their home crowd.
Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) scored four points for the Lions in overtime but Lincoln struggled from the field on 4-of-10 attempts.
In their second consecutive overtime game the Lions came up short against the Trojans falling, 73-69.
Tony Efese (Spring Valley, NY/St. Joseph Regional HS) and Joshua Davis (Saginaw, MI/Louisburg Junior College) both scored 14 points for the Lions against Virginia State.
Efese grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, dished out four assists, and had two blocked shots.
Davis was 6-of-8 from the free-throw line and had three steals with three rebounds. Kyle Aiken (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) finished with 12 points and three assists.
Both Quaman Burton (Richmond, VA/John Marshall HS) and Daniel Pendleton (Philadephia, PA/MCSCS) finished with nine points for the Lions.
LUlions.com
