The Rams (5-5) got back to .500 on the season after defeating the Lincolon University Lions (2-10) 60-50 Friday night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Both teams could not seem to find the bottom of the basket in the first half of this contest. The Rams and Lions both made a respectable four three-pointers, but aside from that, both teams struggled offensively. Going into the break, the score was tied at 24 all. The Rams shot 30 percent while the Lions did not do much better, shooting just 32.14 percent.
Clearly, both teams had major adjustments to make offensively at the intermission. The defenses on both sides were giving major setbacks and issues to the offenses on both teams.
The second half would prove to be a different story though. With 7:54 left in regulation, a dunk by Joshua Davis of the Lions made the score 39-38 in favor of the Rams in this low-scoring contest. Both teams though were still looking for a spark offensively, and the Lions thought they had it with Davis’ dunk.
However, this would be as close as the Lions would get. From that point on, the Rams executed greatly down the stretch. Juniors AJ Carr and Steffen Davis of the Rams unleashed a scoring barrage, inside and out, to cement the Rams’ hard-fought road victory. The dagger came with a three-pointer by Davis with 1:48 to play to make the score 60-42.
The Lions had trouble scoring all game-long thanks to the Rams’ stout defense. Shooting 27.8 percent really lead to their downfall, as they were unable to produce points until late in the game when the outcome was already decided. As a team, the Lions were ice-cold from three-point range, going 4-of-23. Despite forcing 22 Rams’ turnovers, the Lions turned the ball over 12 times as a team, which did not help their rhythm offensively. These turnovers led to 13 points for the Rams, who really needed them to preserve the victory.
James Richardson of the Lions proved to be challenge for the Rams to contain, scoring 16 points. His teammate Joshua Blair posted a near double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.
Junior guard Steffen Davis of the Rams helped bring the Rams out of their offensive woes by recording a game-best 22 points, going 5-of-11 from downtown. Junior forward AJ Carr was another high-performer with 14 points. Sophomore forward Gavin McTavish balanced the scoring department with his 10 point effort. However, senior guard Naim Muhammad filled up the stat sheet with six points and a game-leading 15 rebounds and seven assists.
In the road victory, the Rams shot 42.9 percent, going 9-of-23 on three-pointers.
With a game that had many missed shots, there were plenty of opportunities for rebounds. The Rams won this department 48-39, which helped them set the tone for the game.
The Rams will look to get another win when they go on the road to face Concord on Jan. 3 for a 7:30 p.m. game.
Anthony Bracken is the Sports Editor of The Picket. He can be reached at abrack02@rams.shepherd.edu
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