Lincoln College captures national title 71-60 over Cincinnati State

[March 22, 2010]  DANVILLE -- The Lincoln College Lynx won the NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament with a 71-60 victory over Cincinnati State Technical & Community College on Saturday. The game turned out to exceed all expectations that were set forth by all of the hype on this matchup.

Cincinnati State played defense in a 2-3 zone, which was not unusual compared with what they had done in the previous games of the tournament. Lincoln had an obvious size advantage inside, so Cincinnati State's zone was helpful in neutralizing Lincoln's big men. Rayshawn Goins had been the leading offensive weapon for Cincinnati State in the tournament, but he had minimal impact on their offense early on in the championship contest. Instead, Illya Glover stepped up big and scored 10 points for Cincinnati early on in the first half. Glover was a big reason that Cincinnati was able to scrape up a 26-23 lead with three minutes remaining in the half.

DeMarius Sumrell provided a huge boost for Lincoln with some great offensive plays. With Sumrell's help, Lincoln answered with a couple of their own great offensive plays to tie the game at 29-29 before the halftime break.

First-half leaders for Cincinnati State:

• Illya Glover, 6-foot-5 sophomore, 10 points

• James Millen, 6-foot-2 sophomore, 8 points
  

First-half leaders for Lincoln:

• DeMarius Sumrell, 6-foot-1 freshman, 11 points

• Kiel Turpin, 6-foot-11 freshman, 8 points

The state of the second half was unchanged from the first half. The transition game was limited for both teams.

After the first couple of minutes, Kiel Turpin had a phenomenal tip-in dunk for Lincoln that electrified the crowd. The rest of the team fed off the energy and took a 43-38 lead with 14 minutes remaining in the contest.

Goins finally started making big plays down low for Cincinnati State. However, Turpin answered for Lincoln with a couple of huge blocks and fantastic finishes in the paint. The game quickly turned into a battle of the big men. Lincoln held around a five-point lead for the next several minutes.

At around the eight-minute mark, Lincoln had a couple of turnovers that led to Cincinnati State points, and Cincinnati took a 57-55 lead, the first lead they had held since the first couple of minutes of the half.

Lincoln answered with their own run that gave them a 65-57 lead with less than four minutes to play. Cincinnati State cut the lead to 60-65 with two minutes to go but never got any closer. Lincoln ended up making too many plays for Cincinnati State to overcome and went on to win the national championship.

Box score (PDF)

Game leaders for Cincinnati State:

• Illya Glover, 6-foot-5 sophomore, 17 points

• Rayshawn Goins, 6-foot-6 sophomore, 15 points

• Quentin Williford, 5-foot-10 sophomore, 9 points

Game leaders for Lincoln:

• Kiel Turpin, 6-foot-11 freshman, 21 points

• DeMarius Sumrell, 6-foot-1 freshman, 18 points

• Kenyon Smith, 6-foot-1 freshman, 11 points

All-tournament team:

• Adam Johnson, Cecil

• Jake Stark, St. Clair

• Jeremy Atkinson, Louisburg

• Rico Pierrevilus, Lewis & Clark

• Jarvis Williams, Kirkwood

• Paul Tometich, Kishwaukee

• Jamier Morris, Pima

• Brian Word, Brown Mackie

• James Millen, Cincinnati State

• DeMarius Sumrell, Lincoln

• Rayshawn Goins, Cincinnati State

• Kenyon Smith, Lincoln

Fred Pohlman Sportsmanship Award:

• Louie Schonauer, Lincoln

Jack Cistriano Award -- Best Small Man:

• Harold Washington, Cecil

Most Valuable Player:

• Kiel Turpin, Lincoln

Coach of the Year:

• Kirk Whiteman, Lincoln

[Text from NJCAA]