Men's Basketball Preview: Salem University

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, PA - The Corey Lowery era is here for the Lincoln University men's basketball program as the Lions stepped onto the Manuel Rivero Hall court to kick off the 2020-21 season. The Lions will be hosting Salem University (1-0) in non-conference action 6 p.m. Tuesday.

GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | VIDEO STREAM

The Tigers opened the season with a 96-77 victory over West Virginia Tech on September 8. Senior guard Shawn Christian led the way with 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including a robust 8-of-12 from beyond the arc. His backcourt mate, Jordan Forbes, added 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting with a team-high nine rebounds. 

SERIES HISTORY
The two teams have met three times with each team winning at home. The last time the teams met came in the 2017-18 season with the Tigers posting the 66-65 victory.

    Dec. 10, 2017    Salem 66, Lincoln 65
    Feb. 16, 2011    Lincoln 76, Salem 69 (OT)
    Nov. 22, 2010    Salem 64, Lincoln 48
    
A GOOD DAY-DAY COMING
Senior Deaquan Williams (Camden, N.J./Camden) returns for his senior season looking to become the third player in school history with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for his career. The All-American enters the season with 944 points and 771 rebounds. 
Williams was the CIAA Defensive Player of the Year last season ago after leading the conference with 11.2 rebounds/game and 16 double-doubles. His rebounding average was fifth nationally in NCAA Division II. 

NOT FEELING BLUE
Junior Zahrion Blue (Princeton, N.J./Princeton) comes into the season after leading the Lions with 104 assists and was second with 15.1 rebounds. The lightly recruited prospect was also second on the team with 7.1 rebounds. A 6-4 guard from Princeton, N.J., Blue is a two-way player capable of playing four of the five positions on the court.

SHOOTING OUT THE LIGHTS(EY)
After missing the first nine games of the season in 2019-20, junior Bernard Lightsey (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) made up for lost shots right out the gate. In his first game back, he dropped a career-high 32 points against Fayetteville State. He reached double figures in 15 of his 17 games en route to averaging a team-best 17.4 points/game. Lightsey topped the 20-point plateau seven times in his sophomore year. 
The 17.4 average marked an 11-point improvement over his freshman season. 

THE GENERAL
Junior point guard, a junior college All-American at Hostos Community College, was brought in to guide the Lincoln offense that sometimes got bogged down a season ago. He averaged 23.6 points/game while shooting 54.4 percent (223-of-410) from the floor. Williams added 191 assists and 132 steals.

THE SHOOTER
Sophomore Deonta Dunlap (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill Academy) was purely a shooter during a freshman campaign in which he earned CIAA All-Freshman team honors. Eighty-eight (88) percent of his made baskets (56-of-63) were three-pointers, while 85 percent (172-of-202) of his shots were from beyond the arc.

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Lincoln University, the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU), educates and empowers students to lead their communities and change the world. Lincoln offers a rigorous liberal arts education to a diverse student body of approximately 2,200 men and women in more than 35 undergraduate and graduate programs.