LINCOLN, Pa. -  The Shaw University men's basketball team overcame a double-digit deficit to send the contest against Lincoln into overtime, but could not get the clutch basket as they fell to the host Lions 71-69 Monday night.

With the loss, Shaw falls to 6-10 overall, 4-2 in CIAA action.  Lincoln improves to 12-3, 4-2 in conference play.

It was a tale of two halves for the Bears, as they allowed the Lions to build a double-digit lead in less than four minutes, then battled back to tie the contest by the end of regulation.

In the first half, Shaw hit 45.5 percent of its shots, improving to 62.5 percent in the second half.  They committed eight turnovers in the first half, while forcing LUPA into only one miscue, but in the second half, made only six turnovers, compared to 13 for Lincoln. 

On the game, Shaw hit 53.7 percent of its shots from the floor, while Lincoln hit only 47.4 percent.  The difference came from the three-point line where Shaw made only two of eight attempts, while Lincoln hit six of 21 from beyond the arc.

The two teams were all but even on the boards, with Shaw pulling in 32, to 30 for Lincoln.

Lincoln jumped on top early in the half, and held that lead throughout the first period.  By the 16:32 mark, the Lions had built an 11-point lead at 14-3.

Shaw then scored eight straight points, trimming the lead to three on a pair of free throws from Derrick Hunter that made the score 14-11.

Lincoln scored four straight to extend the lead to seven, then fought off numerous Shaw charges.  By the 2:42 mark, the Lions had extended their lead to ten, 37-27 on a jumper from Justin Jackson.  Shaw would trim that lead by the half, but only by one as they went to the locker room trailing 39-30.

Scoring was at a premium early in the second half -- Lincoln had only nine points in the period by the time the two teams reached the under-ten media timeout at 9:54.  Shaw had managed 17, cutting into the LUPA lead significantly.

The two teams went scoreless for nearly three full minutes just before that mid-point, finally lighting up the scoreboard with an Aquil Younger layup finding the bottom of the net and cutting the Lincoln lead to only four at 45-41.

Coming out of the media timeout, Younger hit the free throw to complete a three-point play and cut the Lincoln lead to two, 46-44.

Derrick Washington hit a three for Lincoln, extending their lead to five, but Andre Paulk's bucket knocked the lead back to three, with the resulting free throw cutting it to two, 49-47, with 8:45 to go.

The lead remained in the two to four point range for two minutes, but Andre Paulk buried a pair of free throws to trim the Lion lead to one.  The Bears then forced a turnover, and Younger hit a layup to give the Bears a lead with six minutes left in the contest.

Timothy McKenzie hit a layup to give the Lions back the lead, was fouled and extended the lead to two with the free throw at the 5:29 mark.

With 4:02 left, Paulk drove the baseline and tied the score at 57, but the Lions scored four straight to reclaim their lead with 3:04 left in the game.

Younger drove the lane and cut the Lincoln lead to only two with 1:44 left, he then collected a rebound went the length of the court and was fouled.  He sank both to knot the score at 61 with 1:15 showing on the clock.

The two teams exchanged buckets, giving Lincoln the ball with 28 seconds left and the score tied at 63.  Lincoln missed their shot as the buzzer sounded, sending the game into overtime.

Bilal Kelly gave the Bears their first four-point lead of the game on a layup, but Lincoln countered with a bucket to trim the Shaw lead back to two and then Chris Kinney got a tip in to again tie the score, this time at 67.

Hunter then stole the ball and went the length of the court for a layup, giving the Bears back the lead, only to see the game tied at 69 20 seconds later. 

Shaw turned the ball over, then committed a foul with 17 seconds left in the overtime period.  George Jackson hit both free throws to give Lincoln a two-point margin with 17 seconds on the clock.   With eight seconds left, Shaw took a time out to set up for a final play.

Younger took a shot on the right wing, but it bounced off the rim, giving Lincoln the 71-69 win.

Younger finished the game with 19 points, while Paulk had 18 and Hunter 16.  Younger's seven rebounds led the Bears.

Jackson led the Lions with 17 points.  Tony Efese had 15, Derrick Washington 12 and Jackson 11.  Efese's six rebounds and Washington's four assists led Lincoln.

The Bears conclude their four-game road trip Saturday when they travel to Livingstone for a 7:30 p.m. tip.  Shaw returns home Wednesday, January 22 to host division rival Winston-Salem State at 8:00 p.m. at C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium on the Shaw campus.