BALTIMORE, MD (February 23, 2023) - The 2023 CIAA Men's Basketball Quarterfinals followed the same trend as the earlier women's quarterfinal games with Lincoln (PA) and Winston-Salem State both winning as the lower seeds on Thursday in the newly-renovated CFG Bank Arena. The Lions advance to Friday's semifinals to play the No. 2 seed Fayetteville State and the Rams have a Friday date with the top-seeded Virginia Union Panthers. The Broncos and Panthers won on Wednesday to clinch their spots as two of the four remaining teams.

Men's - #6 Lincoln (PA) 75, #3 Virginia State 67

The No. 6 seed Lincoln (PA) Lions shot 51-percent from the field, connecting on 10-of-18 shots from the field in the second half to knock off the No. 3 seed Virginia State Trojans, 75-67, in the CIAA Men's Basketball Tournament Thursday night inside CFG Bank Arena.

Virginia State led by as many as seven points in the first half before taking a 36-33 lead at intermission. The lead changed six times before the Lions took control for good led by 10-1 run with under 10 minutes remaining. Lincoln (PA) grew a lead as large as 11 while connecting 19-of-28 shots from the free throw line and 4-4 shooting from beyond the arc. The Trojans pulled within four at the 3:25 mark but that would be the closest the Trojans got for the remainder of the contest.

Lincoln (PA) had three players score in double figures led by Bakir Cleveland with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting while Korey Williams registered 21 points and Reggie Hudson added 18 points and five rebounds. The top defender for the Lions was Peter Sorber with seven rebounds and five blocks.

Virginia State's Terrence Hunter-Whitfield finished with 21 points and six rebounds, followed by Zach Newkirk and Francis Fitzgerald with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Lions (16-13) advance to the semifinals while the Trojans season comes to an end at 16-11 overall.

UP NEXT: Lincoln (PA) will face No. 2 seed and defending conference champion Fayetteville State on Friday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m.


Men's - #5 Winston-Salem State 60, #4 Claflin 52
Jaylen Alston recorded 16 points, 11 rebounds, and four steals to lead No. 5 Winston-Salem State to a 60-52 victory over No. 4 Claflin in the CIAA Tournament Quarterfinals at CFG Bank Arena.

Alston, the Food Lion Game MVP, led four Rams in double figures. Jaylon Gibson and Isaac Parson both scored 12 points and Samage Teel came off the bench to score 11 for WSSU. Alston helped the Rams dominate the backboards as they outrebounded the Panthers 39-27, which led to a 11-3 edge in second chance points. Winston-Salem State (19-8 overall) also had its way inside the paint, outscoring Claflin 36-24.

Ahead 25-23 at the half, the Rams extended their lead which held up through the final buzzer. Their lead was never more than nine but was enough to hold off the Panthers, who ended their season at 19-7 overall.

Claflin relied on its bench to stay in striking distance. DaiJohn Stewart scored 17 points and Shyim Cunningham added 14 points as the Panthers outscored the Rams 37-15 in bench points.

UP NEXT: Winston-Salem State will face the top-seeded Virginia Union on Friday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. for the chance to advance to the conference championship game.