SALEM, W. Va. (Dec. 10, 2017) — Clinging to a one-point lead with less than a minute remaining, Salem University Tigers guard Jordan Robinson sized up Lincoln University's Gevon Arrington near half court with his dribble. 

With an almost hypnotic cadence—alternating low, hard dribbles and a small, hesitant hop—Robinson lulled his defender to sleep, waiting for the perfect driving angle to develop before a quick left-to-right crossover to spring himself into the lane. 

Crafty but not particularly explosive with the ball, Robinson ducked his inside shoulder in front of Arrington, preventing the Lions' guard from getting back into the play defensively, then changed his attacking angle in mid-air, drawing contact from the back line of defense and finishing through contact for the 66-63 lead with 40 seconds remaining. 

After twice missing on the front end of one-and-one opportunities, the Tigers gave up two offensive rebounds on the same possession—both coming in free throw situations—surviving a missed Miles Markland jumper to win 66-65. 

Salem University got quality performances from its two stars, with Malik Toppin posting 18 points and nine rebounds and Reggie Oliver shaking off first-half foul trouble to score all 17 of his points in the second half. 

But it was Jordan Robinson who helped tie the offense together with 11 assists. 

With Oliver limited to just five minutes in the first half with two early fouls, Robinson ran the offense with fine-tuned precision, coming off screens and finding the right passing angles to a diving big man, or patiently stringing out the hedging defense on strong side ball screens, peaking around the defense to find the second big man ducking for easy layups. 

After finding Ignacio Rodriguez in the corner after the defense collapsed on the pick-and-roll for a 3-pointer, Robinson's next six first-half assists went to either Toppin or Ferlandis Penny for four dunks and two layups. 

Playing Robinson on the ball some allowed Oliver to work against the periphery of the defense, with three of Oliver's five 3-pointers coming via assists (two from Robinson, one from Drew Pitzer). 

Starting big men Toppin and Penny side-by-side, the Tigers' zone covered a lot of ground, limiting Lincoln University to just 23-for-73 shooting (31.5 percent), including just 6-for-31 from the 3-point line. Guards Robinson and Rodriguez also stepped up on the glass, with Robinson pulling down a team-high 13 rebounds and Rodriguez finishing with an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double. 

The tradeoff was cramped spacing on the other end, where Salem committed 17 turnovers, either trying to force the ball over the top through narrow windows or driving through tight lanes—keeping the Lions alive by surrendering an 18-5 advantage in points off turnovers. 

Elijah Bush and Sean James ld the Lions with 17 points each while Williams and Markland each had 10 points. 

With the win, the Tigers improve to 4-5 on the season with road games against McKendree University (Dec. 13) and the University of Indianapolis (Dec. 16) before a home game against California (Pa.) before the winter break.