Written by: Soy Littman and Eusebio Refuse
Lincoln’s University Men’s and Women’s basketball teams made it far in the CIAA (Center Intercollegiate Athletics Association) tournament held for HBCUs. There are 12 teams that make it to CIAA to compete with one another in order to crown a champion for both men’s and women’s basketball. Games are held each day of the week and the team that loses has to pack their belongings and head back to school. The winner presses on to the next round. For Lincoln University, it was a new opportunity to become champs.
LU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The LU women’s basketball team came to the 2023 tournament as reigning champs with a lot to prove. Last year, they defeated Elizabeth City State University 67-52 in the final game to bring home the CIAA trophy. This year, the atmosphere was electrifying as LU supports came out to route on the champs. The women’s team were the 2nd seed in the tournament and had a bye the first round. In their first game they dominated Virginia State University in a 78-57 victory. D’Ayzha Atkinson, Kania Pollock, and Maya Madison all registered double-doubles, with 16pts 10rebs, 15pts 13rebs, and 11pts 12rebs respectively. Joleesa Lanier also dropped 3 three pointers to help propel the Lions to victory.
In the next round, LU went against Shaw University, a team that they played during the regular season and defeated. Although they went in with confidence and Anyssa Fields finished with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals, the women’s team fell short and lost 59-45 to end the season. Despite coming up short of a repeat, the team gave everything they had and is poised to come back next year as a top contender.
The Leading Lions’ Scorers for the 2022/2023 season
Anyssa Fields (14.3 ppg)
Kania Pollock (13.9 ppg)
Ciani Montgomery (8.9 ppg)
LU Men’s Basketball
The men’s basketball team were on fire the whole tournament with some players averaging 10 to 15 points a game. The men stayed steady throughout the tournament, winning three games back to back to head to the championship. In the first round Lincoln faced off against Johnson C. Smith University and got out to an early lead that they never let go of, with a final score was 80-52. Augustine Ominu lead the field with 17 points and 9 rebound. In the next round Lincoln took on Virginia State. It was a tight game most of the way with VSU leading at the half. By the end of the game, Lincoln finished strong and came out on top 76-67 to move onto the Semi-Final round, where they would meet Fayetteville State who they ultimately defeated 53-49.
Although Lincoln entered the final with confidence, Winston-Salem proved to be more of a challenge. With both teams fighting till the very end, Lincoln unfortunately, fell short with the score being 62-57. The game had come down to the wire for both teams during crunch time. Lincoln turned over the ball and WSSU scored a basket with a foul making the score 58-50. Turnovers were the key factor that allowed WSSU to take over the game and win. Reggie Hudson finished the game with 14 points and 2 assists. Freddie young also chipped in with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Even with the loss Lincoln made history by making it so far in the tournament after years of losing in the first round. Its clear that the Lions will be back next year stronger and better than ever!
The leading scorers this season were
Korey Williams (16.8)
Reggie Hudson (11.1)
Blair Cleveland (10.5)
Jr. Young (7.0).
Photos by: Isaiah Freeman
