By Maliik Obee
Special to the AFRO
It was a nearly packed house for the men’s finale of the 2024 CIAA Tournament in CFG Bank Arena on March 2, as No. 1-seeded Lincoln rallied for a thrilling 54-51 victory over No. 1-seeded Fayetteville State.
The Lions held on and captured their first CIAA Championship since 1948. They also secured the CIAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament. They will learn who they face when the brackets are announced on March 10.
The Lions slogged through their opponent’s scrappy defense and called on their front court to bring home the victory in a game where both teams shot less than 40 percent from the field.
Lions forward Peter Sorber secured most valuable player honors, collecting nine points and six rebounds. But no player came up bigger for Lincoln than forward Ethan Garita, who contributed 15 points and 5 rebounds.
Credit: AFRO Photos / Stephen Hopkins
“Our guys just wanted it a little bit more,” Lincoln coach Jason Armstrong said. “Our guys stayed focused and stayed in the moment. It was wonderful to see our fans be here with us this whole week and cheer us on. We came back this year and did what we wanted to do. Now, we get ready for the NCAA Tournament. Shout out to Fayetteville State. They battled to the end and never gave up.”
In a contest with four ties and seven lead changes, easy points were hard to come by for both teams. When Garita fouled out midway through the second half, his teammates responded.
Fayetteville State forward Caleb Simmons scored 21-point and grabbed six rebounds, a performance that kept the Broncos in the fight all the way until the final seconds. He converted five free throws attempts (5-for-8) to keep the struggling Broncos on the scoreboard.
Neither team found an offensive groove in the first half, but Fayetteville’s rebounding (37 to 24) presented ample opportunities at second-chance points. The Broncos entered into halftime ahead 21-20.
“It was a great game,” Fayetteville State coach Luke Delesseo said. “Lincoln is an upcoming program and well-coached. They have really good players and tough kids. As a fan, you couldn’t ask for anything better, even as a coach. It went down to the wire and down the stretch they made the plays. I was proud of our guys because we never stopped playing.”
Lincoln found 16 bench points in the second half and the Lions converted 17 of 24 free throw attempts. That was the difference in the end.
In July, Lincoln named Armstrong its head coach, removing the interim title. Sitting in the CFG Bank Arena this time last year, he watched the Winston-Salem State
Rams celebrate a championship victory.
An excited Armstrong looked ahead to next season and a possible return to the championship game.
“We’ve got no seniors,” he said. “Whew!”
2024 Food Lion Men’s Championship MVP
Ethan Garita (Lincoln University)
2024 CIAA Men’s Tournament MVP
Peter Sorber (Lincoln University)
2024 CIAA Men’s All-Tournament Team
Jordan Hinds, Guard (Bluefield State University)
Reggie Raynoe, Guard (Elizabeth City State University)
Jailen Williams, Forward (Claflin University)
Tremere Brown, Forward (Virginia State University)
Alston Sherrell, Center (Johnson C. Smith University)
Kalem Coleman, Forward (Fayetteville State University)
Peter Sorber, Center (Lincoln University)
Jaylen Alston, Forward (Winston-Salem State University)
Tairell Fletcher, Guard (Fayetteville State University)
Reggie Hudson, Guard (Lincoln University)
2024 CIAA Men’s Team Sportsmanship Award
Johnson C. Smith University
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