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For the first time since 1915, the Lincoln Lions men's basketball team wins the CIAA championship after defeating the Fayetteville State Broncos, 53-51. After falling short in the CIAA final round last year against Winston-Salem State, Lincoln finally gets over the hump and wins it all.
In an offensive rock fight, the Lions benefitted from a late scoring surge to give them the lead in the waning minutes of the second half. Both Lincoln and Fayetteville State relied on their defenses in this year's tournament, holding opponents around 50 points a game. The Lions gave up 62 points in their opening game against Elizabeth City State, but, in response, they put up 76 points.
As to be expected in a championship game, both teams came out looking uneasy. Neither could get into an offensive rhythm as a lid sat on the rim for both Lincoln and Fayetteville State. It took almost 12 minutes for the scoreboard to get into the double digits.
Fayetteville State's Kaleb Coleman, who missed four of his first five shots, made a three-pointer to give his team a 12-8 lead with eight minutes to go in the first half. He later assisted to teammate Myles Pierre on another three-pointer to take a commanding seven point lead.
Lincoln went on an 8-2 run to cut the deficit, but the Broncos held onto the lead for the rest of the half. As the clock wound down, Lion Ethan Garita made a shot from deep, making the half time score 21-20 in Fayetteville State's slight favor.
Coming out of the halftime break, Garita's teammate Bakir Cleveland picked up where he left off, hitting a three-pointer and giving Lincoln their first lead of the of game. The two teams continued to jockey for position, grabbing the lead and giving it up with every hard-to-come-by basket.
Garita carried Lincoln on offense, keeping them within reach as their scoring approach crumbled around him. Around the five-minute mark, Chase Jackson made a pair of free throws that tied the game at 40. From that point on, Lincoln would never trail again.
A minute after Jackson's free throws, the Broncos sent Cleveland to the stripe, and secured a 42-40 lead. Fayetteville State's Caleb Simmons tied the game with a layup, but Garita later responded as game hit its final two minutes.
After a three-point miss from the Broncos, Jackson, a freshman, hit the biggest shot of his collegiate career. He sunk a three-pointer from the left wing over an outstretched defender's hand. Though 90 seconds remained, the five point Lion lead felt nearly insurmountable.
There was a reason, though, why Fayetteville State had made it this far. They played the foul game in the final minute, betting against Lincoln's ability to consistently make their free throws. Had they made their free throws, the Lions could have jumped to a seven point lead with 30 seconds to go.
Instead, they split both their trips at the line, allowing Simmons to drain a three-pointer and cutting the lead to a single basket. They sent Cleveland to the line, who sunk both of his free throws. With the game in the balance and under 20 seconds remaining, Simmons got fouled on the way to the hoop.
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Down four points, he had a chance to bring it within two, but he missed the second free throw. Fortunately for Fayetteville State, the ball caromed off of Lincoln out of bounds, giving them another shot.
On the next possession, the Lions fouled Coleman on a shot attempt. He had a shot to make it a one-point game, but he missed his first attempt from the charity stripe. He got the second, making it a 51-49 game, but with no timeouts, the situation looked dire.
The Broncos sent Cleveland to the line once again, and he made both of them, effectively ending the game. Simmons made a layup on the other end, but less than a second remained on the clock.
As the buzzer sounded, the camera panned to Lincoln's Garita on the bench, who had fouled out earlier in the half and watched helplessly as Fayetteville State nearly completed the comeback. Instead, he and his teammates walked out of Baltimore as CIAA champions.
Caleb Simmons did a lot of offensive heavy-lifting for the Fayetteville State Broncos. He finished with 21 points, six rebounds, and made all of his three point attempts in his 40 minutes of playing time.
Tairell Fletcher was the only other Bronco in double-digit scoring figures with 10 points. Kaleb Coleman struggled from deep, making just one of his nine three-point attempts as he finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.
Whereas six of Fayetteville State's seven players scored a basket, the Lincoln Lions enjoyed points from eight of their guys. Despite fouling out, Ethan Garita led the way with 15 points, five rebounds, and three blocks.
Bakir Cleveland got eight of his 13 points from free throws. Peter Sorber was a menace around the rim, grabbing six rebounds and blocking four shots to pair with his nine points.
